Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga -- Part 16: The Ultimate Battle

It's time to deal with Bowletta once and for all. Once you've made your preparations, go through the Great Door. Approach the throne and Bowletta congratulates them on making it this far. She intends to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom after she takes the Beanbean Kingdom. The battle begins.

Bowletta has a few attacks. She'll place a block over each bro's head, which they must hit 5 times to make it disappear. They must make it disappear quickly so they can dodge her fiery breath. She'll also spit energy balls called Flarets at the bros. Jump over the ones aimed at the bros. Some will remain on the battlefield, which she can use to heal herself. After enough damage, she'll go into her dark form and send colorful stars at the bros. Hit them back at her. When she's taken enough damage (she make skip her dark form entirely if you do enough early on), she'll say "Cursed Mario Bros.! Not again!" A Time Bob-omb set to zero appears and knocks out the bros. Bowletta scolds them for letting their guard down, and inhales them.

The bros wake up with 1 HP each. Cackletta's spirit is in the belly of Bowser and calls them a persistent pair. She intends to defeat them here and now. If your speed stat is high enough, you can move first, allowing you to heal the bros before she attacks. Otherwise, try to survive her arm attacks. She'll either try to flick the bros with her fingers or swing her arms around. Watch her eyes when she swings her arms around so you know where they'll be. Don't jump if her arms are high up. Her hands can summon either electricity or fire. Jump over the circling fire, which changes directions, and hit the electric ball with your hammer back and forth between the bros. Attack her hands before her head. She'll spit out an energy ball a bro will have to juggle with his hammer. Once you make the head disappear, only her core will remain, revealing her heart. It can restore and heal the head and arms. This is her weak point, so target it when it is revealed. It will be covered up after a while and you'll have to destroy her hands and head again. Do not use electricity or fire on her heart. Once you do enough damage to her heart, she'll use a couple more attacks. The spirit of Fawful will appear and shoot energy blasts at the bros, then appear in front of one of them. Hit him with your hammer. She'll also pause briefly to shoot lasers from her eyes. Again, watch her eyes to see if you need to dodge them. You have a brief moment where you can jump. She's almost done for when she shoots out many energy balls of different colors. This is a difficult attack to dodge, but you must hit the red and green energy balls back at her. It will take a while, but you can defeat her. The explosion forces the bros out of Bowser's body.

Bowletta can't believe she's been defeated. Her spirit leaves Bowser's body and floats away. Bowser lies unconscious on the floor. When the bros try to leave, Prince Peasley appears. He's rigged the castle with an explosive device set to blow in three minutes. They must all escape before time's up or it's Game Over. We can't leave the way we came, so go through the curtain in the back. Go south from there and you'll see lots of stairs. Go down the stairs and you'll find a barrel. Use it to hit a switch to the right. The path ahead will take you to the entrance where Blablanadon is. Talk to him and get out of the castle immediately. Bowser wakes up, unaware of his surroundings or what he has been doing. The explosions make the castle drop out of the sky into the ocean. Bowser flies out and hits the screen.

At Beanbean Airport, Queen Bean, Lady Lima, Toadsworth, Princess Peach, and the bros say their farewells. Prince Peasley leaves them with a large present, which trails behind the plane. Bowser appears from the present and starts chewing on the chain. Turns out they didn't want him in the Beanbean Kingdom and decided to give him back. The plane flies over the Beanbean Kingdom as the credits roll. Bowser drops in on his castle. Fireworks appear as the plane lands at the castle. The curtain closes on this adventure, as the Yoshis cheer from Yoshi Theater.

Well, we're done here. I had a great time replaying one of my favorite games and I hope you enjoyed ready about it. I think you can guess what I'm going to play next.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga -- Part 7: Unleash the Elements

Mario and Luigi landed on a small island called Oho Oasis, inhabited by blue and red creatures called Oho Jee. They have a funny way of speaking. On the beach are boom boxes which play tapes left by a researcher that spent some time here. They say not to approach the red Oho Jee with fire and something might incite the blue Oho Jee. There are two temples on the island, the Fire Palace and the Thunder Palace. Visit them in the order you choose.

In the Fire Palace, go through the doorway on the right and have Mini Mario jump through the hole in the wall. To the back is the altar. Break the stone seal and Mario will return to normal size. A spirit will appear before Mario. He has been waiting for 3000 years for someone to visit this place. The long wait has affected his memory to the point that he's not sure if he's allowed in the Fire Palace or who he is. He lets Mario do whatever he pleases and disappears. Mario approaches the crystal orb in the back and checks it out. He can summon fire from his hand now. The spirit appears again, remembering that here they teach the Hand Power called the Firebrand. Select the Hand Power, hold (A) to charge up power and release it. Exit the altar using the doorway to the right and use the Firebrand to light the torch in the wall. This will lower the gate.

In the Thunder Palace, go through the doorway on the left and dunk Luigi under the gate. Break the stone seal on the altar and another spirit appears. He tells Luigi to leave. Luigi checks out the crystal orb and can summon electricity from his hand. The spirit reappears and says Luigi can master the Thunderhand. Hold (A) to charge up power and release it. Leave through the left doorway and electrify the orb to lower the gate.

As the boom boxes said, using fire on red Oho Jees will make them battle you. Using fire on them in battle will heal them. Using electricity will do critical damage. They'll be fine after the battle, so don't worry. Blue Oho Jee have the opposite problem. They'll periodically drop Oho Jee Wear. When you're ready to leave, go to the southeast and use the hand powers on the torch and the orb. This will make a bridge to a yellow pipe appear. This will take you to the Oho Ocean.

Set your commands to jump to swim. Both hand powers work underwater. Periodically, Goomdivers will drop down. Swim over spikes and make your way to the gates. Drop down to the ground to go through them. Jellyfish gates respond to the Thunderhand. There are Bloopers here as well. In the area where you first find the Bloopers, go north. Hit the switch and memorize the order in which the flames appear. Place flames on the torches in the correct order to lower the coral gate. You'll also encounter Pestnuts again. They take critical damage from fire. The Beanies will float away. Go to the left from there to reach a yellow pipe to the surface. Hold Up, (A), and (B) to climb.

Meanwhile, on the border, Fawful and Cackletta find a beaten Bowser. Fawful says, "O... G-Great... Ca-Cackletta... W-Will this guy... do?" Cackletta isn't picky, so he releases her energy and she takes over Bowser's body.

The bros surface on the east side of Beanbean Fields. Prince Peasley is there to greet them after searching for them. Luigi explains that the Beanstar split. The bros will help in the search. He appreciates the help, but wants them to go to Beanbean Airport first. Princess Peach is visiting the Beanbean Kingdom. The airport is to the south.

Before we go there, go west, then north, then open the gate. Follow the path to a cave. The Hammerhead Bros. have taken up residence here. They'll reforge the hammers for free. They'll be able to break gray rocks. Go to the right and break the gray rocks. In the next room, talk to the Thwomp. For 200 coins, you can test your luck for money, nothing, or a scroll. Secret Scroll 1 will teach Mario a new Bros. Attack called Swing Bros.

The new hammers and powers allow you to reach new areas. To the north is an orb Luigi can activate so you can reach a cave. The challenge is to hit Simu-Blocks at the same time while the bros are on different levels. These can be a little tricky, so approach the problem from all angles, such as jumping across a gap and letting one bro fall. You will get Wool Trousers from the mole for completing the challenge. To the west is a rock blocking the path to a Bean Fruit. To the south is another rock blocking the path to a Bean Fruit. This Bean Fruit is near the entrance to the Beanbean Airport.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga -- Part 6: Bachelors of Puzzles

To reach Woohoo Hooniversity, exit the castle town to the east, then go south. You'll see guards to the south, who will let you pass through. There are Troopea here. Go east to reach Woohoo Hooniversity.

Inside, the place looks damaged and the music is creepy. People rush through the hallway out the door. Ahead, someone is lying on the floor. He says Cackletta snuck in and transformed the professors into monsters. He transforms into one himself. This enemy is called a Laser Snifit, which will shoot either high or low laser rings. Don't do anything when it fires low rings.

Up ahead are two star-themed rooms. In the northeast corner is an invisible block with a Hoo Bean. Go to the room to the north. Hit the ! Block on the right to open the gate in the other room. Go past the gate to a room filled with Laser Snifits. Go to the left. This room has Viruses. Hit them to turn the same color and they'll be defeated. Another enemy is the Eeker, which will bubble up with boiling liquid. To the left is an interesting area where they've been researching various kinds of blocks. Some of them may look familiar. Once you return to the room where the enemies were, go north. Go east for items, return, then go north. You may encounter Yo Bros. Watch the color of their yo-yos. Mecha-Chomps are also here. Watch the color of their eyes. When they malfunction, they will target the bro of the opposite color of their eyes. Check the chalkboard in the room and memorize where the red and blue circles are for the second pattern, or write them down. The room ahead has statues in a similar arrangement. Hit the statues with a hammer to change their color to open the Sun Door. Once you do, the statues will disappear and the window in the back will open up, letting in a beam of light. It will bounce off the walls and open doors. We have to complete tasks to rotate the mirrors so the light reaches the starry rooms near the entrance.

Go through the shutter door that just opened. Follow the path into a room with a lot of switches. Mario and Luigi will have to cooperate and split up to hit the switches. Early on, you'll have to play a little game where Mario and Luigi jump to hit 30 blocks in 25 seconds. Mario can walk on top of the walls to reach other areas. You'll want to walk on the walls to the room to the south, which has lots of invisible blocks. Get a barrel and stand on it to hit the switch, which rotates the mirror. This will open another shutter door.

This door leads to a complicated puzzle. There's a panel on the wall that looks like the one in Chucklehuck Woods. Go to the left, where an ! Block will move over a gap. Go north, down the ramp, and left. Hit the switch to make a barrel appear. Leave it where it is. Go back up the ramp and go to where the ! Block is. Spin jump to the left past it. Hit the switch, then have Mini Mario go through the gap. Make your way through the maze to the switch. The switch will drop some of the barriers in the maze and will make another barrel appear. Go to the barrels and place the one that just appeared on the panel. The crane will activate and pick up the barrel. Go down the ramp, past where the crane was. There are items up the stairs. Go south. Luigi will appear near the switch. Barrels will start rolling down the ramps, like Donkey Kong. When you reach the top, the crane will take the barrel away. The switch lowers a barrier and the crane will drop the barrel on the path. The barrel will hit the ! Block, rotating the mirror. Go to the next shutter door.

There's an invisible block over the raised floor. Have Mario drink some water and walk into the next room. Have Luigi hit Mario with the hammer to shoot some water at the mechanical mouse, which completes the circuit. This turns on the fan, which blows the ! Block over the floor. The ! Block rotates the mirror. In the starry room ahead, hit the ! Block on the left to rotate the lens to focus the light on the door. The door opens.

Ahead are three robots in pink dresses, the Beanstar, and Fawful. He says, "Preparations have completion! O Great Cackletta, unleash the voice of Princess Peach on the Beanstar when you are wanting to!" Cackletta is ready.

Go ahead to the next room, then High Jump up to the doorway. Save first. When the bros go through the door, Cackletta activates the Peach Bots. The Beanstar wakes up, turns red, and breaks the floor, falling with it. Cackletta doesn't know what's going on. Fawful says, "I have fright! A situation we had not suspected has begun to d-d-d-develop! May we flee?" The bros rush in and Luigi hammers Fawful into the floor. Cackletta is not pleased, but prepared to battle the Mario Bros. and knock them back to the Mushroom Kingdom.

First, she'll send holes in the floor. Jump over them. If a bro falls in the hole, he'll have difficulty jumping for a while. She'll also split into three. Use regular attacks to figure out which one is real. If you guess incorrectly, the copy will turn into bats that attack the bros. She may attack with lightning. After a while, she'll send holes in the floor again. Keep using Bros. Attacks to defeat her. She's not sure how this could happen. Fawful says, "CACKLETTA! Do not have worries! Watch! I am sucking your energy with this headgear!" He pops out of the ground and uses his headgear to absorb her. Cackletta wants a parting shot at the Mario Bros. Fawful says, "I say to you YES!" Before he can, Prince Peasley swoops in and sends them flying. The bros explain that Peach's voice drove the Beanstar mad. Prince Peasley's not worried and senses a surprising secret. He'll explain once they've recovered the Beanstar.

Go through the door in the northwest corner. Follow the path and the floor will switch from green to white. Follow the path and battle enemies. At the end is another circuit completion puzzle. After you complete the first part, you'll only be able to hit four robotic mice before the first one will leave the circuit. Once you do, a door will open. Through the door is the Beanstar, with Popple and Rookie. They're impressed with their luck, but not pleased to see the Mario Bros. They move the Beanstar out of the way so they can battle.

Popple will try to steal a hammer from the bros, so stop him with a hammer swing. Rookie will breathe fire and throw hammers. Attack Rookie first, as before. After a few attacks, Popple will suggest using a special attack. It's a Bros. Attack that causes two shockwaves. Once you defeat Rookie, Popple will run off. Once the battle is over, a Peach Bot will drop in and wake up the Beanstar again. Everyone piles on the Beanstar as it flies out of Woohoo Hooniversity. Slowly, they slide off one by one. Rookie remembers his name: Bowser. He falls off and the Beanstar splits into four pieces, and fall back to the ground. The bros land on Oho Oasis, a small island with awesome music.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga -- Part 3: The Mario Bros. do some actual plumbing!

Use your new hammers to break up the rocks in your path. Go to the right, past the cave, for some item blocks, then go into the cave. There's an old man in a rocking chair, who will let us ride the mine carts and pick up jewels. The bros ride in separate mine carts and collect jewels of their respective color. Mario also has to collect batteries so he can shine the flashlight on Luigi to see if there are any obstacles or gems in his path. You need ten jewels to pass through. You can repeat the minigame for Hee Beans.

The Hammerhead Bros. will catch up to the Mario Bros. to teach them how to use hammers in battle. To attack, press the bro's button when the hammer shakes. To defend, hold the button, then release it before the hammer shakes. To the north are item blocks and a mysterious Boo statue. To the south is the area surrounding Beanbean Castle.

In this area, you'll find Sharpeas, Spiny-like enemies. Use your hammer on them. Using hammers to get the first strike will stun all enemies on the field, but they won't take damage. Sworms also appear here. Go south, then east to Beanbean Castle Town. If you see Goombas with tails, you're too far north. Return to the previous area and take the path to the southeast.

Beanbean Castle Town is absolutely devastated. The townspeople say that Cackletta attacked while the soldiers were searching for Prince Peasley. One person says that something called the Beanstar is kept inside the castle. The item shop is the only thing that's currently open. To the north is the entrance to the castle. The guards won't let the bros through. Luigi brings out Prince Peasley's rose and the guards allow them to enter. Go north, then west and talk to the attendant lying on the floor. Lady Lima of the court appears, but won't let them meet the Queen. Instead, she opens a trap door and drops them into the basement. She says to prove that they are the Mario Bros., they must repair the castle's plumbing. The Mario Bros. have to do some plumbing? Who knows how long it's been since they've done that?

Aside from the plumbing, Super Flies are in the basement. They're faster than Fighter Flies. Spinies are also here. Deal with them the same way as Sharpeas. To fix the plumbing, use the hammers to hit the plugs in the pipes. This will restore the water flow and open the gate. Some plugs will make enemies appear. Some of the pipes have valves that need to be open. Spin the valves with the Spin Jump. One of the valves is in a different area than the pipes and plugs. Go to the right, spin the valve, and hammer the four plugs in. This will raise a platform so you can reach the next valve. Once you open all the gates, Lady Lima will appear and thank them for saving her. The bros explain that she dropped them here in the first place. She claims that Cackletta attacked and locked them in here.

Upstairs, the other "Lady Lima" approaches a star-shaped object that is no longer protected by a barrier. She says she tricked the Mario Bros. into fixing the plumbing, which disables the Beanstar security system. That is a strange security system. Fawful appears, saying, "Cackletta! It is the hurrying time! We must take that Beanstar and fastly run away from this place!" Cackletta removes her disguise and mentions having possession of both the Beanstar and Peach's voice.

Lady Lima explains that the Beanstar can grant all desires. They are the guardians of the Beanstar, at the castle. She says to hurry and keep the Beanstar out of evil hands. Inside their cell are some item blocks. Save and go through the other gate to go upstairs. The Beanstar is gone. Fawful says, "Once we awaken the Beanstar with Princess Peach's voice, this world will be Cackletta's snack cake!" Cackletta asks if the bros have met Queen Bean yet. She drops down, angry. Fawful and Cackletta fly off and Queen Bean approaches for battle.

She'll slam her fists into the floor, creating shockwaves. You'll want to attack both of her arms first. After about 20 HP of damage, they'll shrink and her crown will fall off. You can now attack her head. She'll spit beans at you. If you land on them, they'll become Beanies and remain on the battlefield. After a few turns, her arms will become large again. If there are any Beanies on the field once you defeat her, you'll have to defeat them as well.

Once you defeat her, Queen Bean collapses. Lady Lima says that Cackletta made her eat a Belly Blech worm, which turned her into a monster. The bros offer to help in any way. The only way to return her to normal is for her to drink from the legendary Chuckola Reserve from the Chucklehuck Woods. Lady Lima gives them the Beanbean Brooch and tells them to head southwest to reach the Chucklehuck Woods. One of the attendants gives them a badge outside the castle. Badges make the bros stronger and have numerous effects. Luigi's upset that he doesn't get one.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga -- Save the Princess('s voice). Save the Kingdom (of laughter). With Bros. Moves.

An ambassador of the Beanbean Kingdom visits Peach in her castle. She presents Peach with a present, which is a puff of smoke. The ambassador and her assistant are frauds, and vacuum up the smoke around Peach before leaving in their aircraft. The Toads scatter.

A Toad runs to the Mario Bros.'s house, where Luigi is hanging laundry. He says there's an emergency situation and asks if Luigi's seen the Kingdom Courier. Luigi says no and Toad runs inside, calling for Mario. Toad walks into the bathroom on the left, hearing humming. He goes into the bathroom, then quickly runs out, embarrassed with a red face. Mario comes out of the bathroom, wearing a towel. Toad stammers Peach's name and Mario runs outside, jumps into the clothesline to get dressed, and drags Luigi all the way to the castle, tangled in the clothesline.

In the castle, Bowser is standing around furiously. When Mario stops running, Luigi slides into Bowser. He asks how dare the Coward Bros. attack him when his back is turned. This starts the first battle. It's just Mario this time. All he can do is jump on Bowser and jump to dodge his fire breath. Toad will provide hints on Action Commands and dodging. Luigi's watching the battle, and his expression changes as you go. Bowser has about 10 HP, so the battle's fairly short.

Bowser says it's no time for fighting. The Toads explain that the ambassador from the Beanbean Kingdom stole Peach's voice. Her voice has been replaced by an explosive vocabulary, which drops explosives when she speaks. This is preventing Bowser from kidnapping Peach, which is a good thing, but we can't leave her this way. Mario has to retrieve Peach's voice. Bowser will kidnap her after that. Bowser offers to take Mario in his Koopa Cruiser to the Beanbean Kingdom. It's nice to see them cooperate, but we know he has ulterior motives.

Mario goes into Toadtown Square, where a Toad says to stretch out and talk to everyone. Climb up on ledges to reach item blocks. A Toad on the left ledge lost a precious belonging. Walk down the ledge towards the entrance and check the wall for it. Return it to him for a 1-Up Mushroom. To the right of the fountain is a Mushroom on a ledge. The Toad nearby will ask if you got it for him. If you say yes, he'll let you keep it and will give you a Super Mushroom as well. The right ledge has a Mushroom as well. Luigi's on the north side of the plaza, saying Bowser went north. There's a panicking Koopa ahead who got separated from the Bowser Baddies. Tell him to go "Thatta way" to the north. Go ahead to the north.

This part of the plaza has a Save Block so you can save your game. Luigi will follow you around. To the north is the exit. When you approach it, Toadsworth will appear. He has a suitcase for Mario's travels. We can open it with [Select] to use items and change clothes. It also lets you see Mario's stats. Toadsworth also gives us 100 coins. Luigi says he's seeing Mario off. Ahead is the Koopa Cruiser.

Bowser says we're late. Mario jumps aboard. Bowser summons his Baddies, but they don't appear. Luigi waves goodbye. Bowser thinks Luigi wants to join the Bowser Baddies. Apparently, Bowser doesn't know or recognize Luigi. Luigi disagrees and tries to run away, but runs into the Bowser Baddies. He tries to get past them, but a crew member alerts Bowser to a deserter. Luigi runs off and the Koopa Cruiser pursues and picks him up.

Inside the Cruiser, the Mario Bros. are told to report to the deck. Ahead are Koopas who tell us about the basic controls: [Start] to switch the order of the bros and (A) controls the guy in front, and (B) controls the guy in back. They also explain a special type of item block with an arrow. The bros will have to stand in a line and hit the block back and forth, when the block comes to them and turns their color. The block will give you coins.

In the next area, a Koopa will take the bros.'s passport photos. Use the D-pad to change the pose. Up, down, and left are various panicking poses, and right is a power pose. Walk to the right, then down before you reach the stairs to find the Bowser Baddie you helped. He'll give you a 1-Up Mushroom for your help. Go up the stairs.

There's a barrel in the middle of the floor. Walk into it to break it. The Koopa nearby will teach the Mario Bros. how to fight as a pair. (A) for Mario and (B) for Luigi. A Koopa up ahead will tell you how to get an edge in battle by stomping your enemies on the field. This will damage all enemies in the battle at the start. If enemies run into the guy in back, the guy in back will not be able to move until it's his turn to attack.

There's a Save Album upstairs. The path ahead is blocked by barrels. Hit the (!) Block to activate the crane, which picks up Luigi. We make it up to the deck, where Luigi acts as lookout. He spots something. The Koopa Cruiser's under attack by the Great Cackletta, who was posing as the Beanbean Ambassador. She's not going to deal with us, so she'll have her minion deal with us.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here's Fawful. Because he is one of my favorite characters and his speech is hilarious, I will provide direct quotes. "I am the great Cackletta's most best pupil, who is named Fawful! I am here laughing at you! If you are giving us the chase just to get your silly princess's voice, then you are idiots of foolishness! Princess Peach's sweet voice will soon be the bread that makes the sandwich of Cackletta's desires! And this battle shall be the delicious mustard on that bread! The mustard of your doom!" He shoots Bowser, then sneaks up on the Mario Bros. "Next is is the turn of you!"

Fawful is a simple enemy. Stomp on his headgear. He'll call the bros "Fink-rats" and the color of the text will tell you who he's aiming for. Bowser will tell you that and Fawful will say, "Such mumbling! Stop it!" These little tells are in all enemy attacks. When he says "Fink-rat", he'll shoot at you. When he says, "Have you readiness for this?!?", he'll shoot at one bro, then the other. After about 19 HP worth of damage, he'll say "Ooof!" and his headgear will disappear. "Now is when I ram you!" You can counterattack this attack. After a few rounds, he'll say, "Uhnnrgh.. How could fink-rats like you beat such an awful nasty as me? Headgear!" His headgear returns and he says his catchphrase: "I have fury!" The battle ends, and he says, "Bah! Now is when the talking stops! I do not have time to stop and smell foul roses such as you! One fell swoop is the way I will deal with you fink-rats!" He shoots down the Koopa Cruiser. It crashes into Stardust Fields.

So, the princess has not been kidnapped. Can this be considered a Mario game? Getting her voice back will not be an easy feat. Well, this is an exciting start to a fantastic adventure. It's one of my personal favorites as well as the start of one of my favorite Mario series.