Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 23: Team Up Against Darkness

Dark Bowser's dark power is complete. He's waiting at the top of Peach's Castle. When you're absolutely ready, go north. Torches light up as Bowser walks past them. Dark Bowser stands with Peach at his side. He says the dark power must be freed. He sends dark clouds swirling in the air and the kingdom plunges into darkness. Broque Monsieur and other civilians swirl in bubbles overhead. The wind pushes Bowser back, but he's not impressed. Chippy tells Bowser that he can count on them and that they can work together to stop this. Mario and Luigi jump and Bowser thinks he hears them. Chippy says he's correct. Bowser can't hear well due to the wind. Dark Bowser says the kingdom will vanish along with everyone in it. Bowser's not going to let that happen, as the kingdom is his.

In this battle, you won't always want to use Special Attacks as Bowser. Use them initially, while Dark Bowser and Bowser are the same size. Dark Bowser will toss a large boulder into the air, then break it up with fire. Some of it will rain down on Bowser, so duck. Try to punch the rocks that fall in front of Bowser, which will wind up in Dark Bowser's mouth, causing him to swell and reel. Dark Bowser will also use some of Bowser's Special Attacks. After you do enough damage, Dark Bowser will collapse. Fawful, in his spider form, will heal 1000 HP and make Dark Bowser larger. At this point, punch Dark Bowser in the belly. This will make him spit up Fawful, who runs away. Inhale Fawful, but know that Dark Bowser will also try to inhale him.

When you inhale him, Fawful will change a little. He'll have three legs and two lenses for his glasses. You can attack all of these five points. If you try to use an attack, one or two of the legs will be hidden. Destroy the legs first to make Fawful collapse, then destroy the glasses. The glasses will crack when they take enough damage. One of Fawful's attacks is to chase the bros. On the top screen, a dark rock will appear, which will be color-coded. Have the bro jump to avoid the rock. If it hits, Fawful might eat the bro. The attack will continue until the bros reach the light. Fawful will also stick his hands in the floor in front of the bros and send energy balls at the bros. Use the hammer to get rid of them. The larger energy balls will return to Fawful and get rid of the arm during the attack. When Fawful collapses into the ground, use Special Attacks to attack the Dark Star Core. The Dark Star Core will make an arrow appear that circles over the heads of the bros. It will eventually point at the ground, so jump over it in unison. The Dark Star Core will then fire the arrow at the bros, so hammer it back to do damage. After a while, Fawful will leave and go back to Dark Bowser and the process will repeat.

Once you defeat Fawful, Dark Bowser will start reeling. He'll hold his head. Bowser's ready to end this fight with a KO punch. Repeatedly hit (X). The final punch will make Bowser build up rainbow star power. Dark Bowser explodes in a dark light. He admits defeat. Bowser says no cheap imitation can compare to the real Bowser. Dark Bowser can't believe that he was defeated even with the dark power completed. The Dark Star returns to its original form, rises into the sky, and explodes, removing the darkness, and revealing just how damaged Peach's Castle is. Chippy asks Bowser how Peach is doing. Bowser says he can kidnap her now. Inside Bowser, a voice says, "Why... The failing..." What remains of Fawful appears. He's speaking less clearly than usual. "You...mustaches...with...why...fury...whenever... Fawful...just wanted...some kingdom conquering... Fawful tried... Fawful gave the 110 percents... Fawful worked the overtime... Fawful was the team player... Fawful pu in the hours... Fawful got the hands dirty... But every time... Always... The mustaches...arrive... Always in Fawful's way... Alwaysalwaysalways..." Starlow says to give it up. "I have remorse... Fawful understands... Fawful gives up... Fawful will disappear with no troubles... Here Fawful goes... The disappearing... Forever disappearing... WITH YOU!" Fawful explodes, which releases everyone from Bowser's body.

All the Toads, the bros, and Starlow are spat up. This wakes Peach up and she rushes to them. She calls the bros and Starlow, which is the first time you've heard her name in a long time. Starlow says Fawful's last ditch effort saved everyone. Toadsworth is thankful that Peach is safe. Bowser is not thrilled that the bros just came out of his gut. Starlow says not to think about it too much. Bowser recognizes her as the voice of Chippy. He's enraged that the bros were hanging out in his body and starts breathing fire. Everyone else flees to safety. Peach wishes the bros well, leaving the bros to deal with Bowser... in the credits!

In the credits, the bros defeat Bowser, sending him packing with his minions. Repairs start on both castles. Bowser is confined to bedrest and Peach and the bros have a surprise planned. Birdley flies a present to Bowser's Castle. Private Goomp, Sergeant Guy, and Corporal Paraplonk are in Bowser's room, trying to rejoin as minions. Birdley arrives. Bowser wants the bird out, but Kamek says Birdley has a message from Peach's Castle. Starlow's in the package, here to check on Bowser to see if he'll be attacking Peach's Castle anytime soon. Bowser says he's remodeling his castle, which isn't evil. Starlow likes his current attitude and tells him to enjoy his present. Bowser doesn't want it. He shoos everyone out of his room, letting the three traitors be his minions again. When he's alone, Bowser opens the package, finding a cake. There are Peach, Mario, and Luigi figurines, and Bowser's face drawn in icing. Chakron says that he has watched us and we have done well. He shows us our ranks. He says everyone grew super strong. If you have achieved Rainbow Rank and Final Boss Rank, he will praise you, which is something he rarely does to the unenlightened. We are absolutely amazing. The ranks sparkle.

And with that, we are done with this game. I had a lot of fun playing the third game in my part of the Mario series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did playing the game.  As you may expect, I will be playing Mario and Luigi: Dream Team next. What awaits the bros and Peach on Pi'illo Island? What will appear in Luigi's dreams? Will Fawful make an appearance? We shall see. It will launch in the United States in August, so it will be a while before I get to play it. I want to keep the series going uninterrupted. In the meantime, I will be on hiatus from blogging, but I will still be here. Until then, please enjoy some of my older posts.

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.