Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door -- Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls -- Part 2

Mario has just defeated the Duplighost with the unknown name in Creepy Steeple. His partner expected more from the Duplighost. They leave, but are not followed. Press (A) and the shadow jumps up. You're now controlling the shadow, which is Mario's current form. Drop down the hole.

The Shadow Sirens have arrived in Twilight Town. Beldam says they'll succeed in getting the map because they have the Superbombomb. She asks Vivian for it, but Vivian claims that it was too important, so Beldam should have it. Beldam asks if Vivian is implying that she lost it. Vivian denies it and is tasked with finding it. Marilyn and Beldam leave.

The shadow that is Mario is leaving Creepy Steeple. You can still battle as you normally would. When you approach Twilight Town, the Duplighost disguised as Mario appears. He likes Mario's name and body and plans on keeping them. Mario's pretty popular in the town. He can change his shape easily, but to really be someone, he has to take their name and body. Mario has become a shadow and can't use his name anymore. His plans are to erase Mario, but will give him a chance to get his name and body back. All he has to do is guess the Duplighost's name. Try to input an answer and you'll notice the lowercase "p" is missing. Input any name you like and it will be incorrect (it's case sensitive). An incorrect answer means you'll have to battle. Even though he says not to run away, run away immediately. You're both invincible, so the battle is pointless. You won't lose any coins. He'll be disappointed when you run away.

In Twilight Town, the residents are back to normal. They like Mario for breaking the curse. Go into the item shop and you'll discover that the pig the shopkeeper let in wasn't her husband, but Dupree. He's failing miserably at trying to explain the situation. Go west and you'll see Vivian crying. Go into the mayor's house, where the Duplighost and Mario's partners are having a feast. His party members notice that something is different about Mario. Goombella says that he's way more chatty than usual and Yoshi says he's acting like a loon.

Go outside and talk to Vivian. Vivian explains the need to find the important thing to avoid punishment. Check the west shrubs to find it. It looks like a grenade. Give it to Vivian, who is thankful, but says it's broken. It probably happened when Beldam dropped it. Cheer her up and it disappears. Vivian asks Mario's name, but he explains his name was stolen. Vivian calls the situation crazy and they talk for a while. Vivian thinks Mario has worse problems, and calls him kind for worrying enough to help. Vivian doesn't want to stay with Beldam and Marilyn anymore and will help Mario get back his name, body, and friends by joining the party. Press (X) and Vivian will pull Mario into the shadows where they can hide. Press (X) to reemerge. Shade Fist can burn enemies in battle and Veil allows them to hide in the shadows in battle to dodge attacks.

Vivian says they must find the Duplighost's name first and suggests eavesdropping on the birds while in the shadows. Birds pretend to be innocent when people are around, but they're well-informed by eavesdropping and flying around. Approach the trees and press (X), and the birds will start talking. Some of them are worried about fossil fuels and renewable energy, one got fiber optics installed in its home network so it can download applications without any problems, one is complaining how mundane life in Twilight Town is, another bird's children are taking the SATs, and, on the east side of town in the east tree, the birds say that the Mario hanging around the mayor is the bad guy. The only soul who knows the bad guy's name is locked under Creepy Steeple. Apparently, as long as no one knows your name, you can use unstoppable magic. If someone says your real name, the magic stops working. Go east.

The fake Mario appears again and Vivian notes that he looks familiar. Input a name and run from the battle. When you reach Creepy Steeple, go down the well and go east. Push the door on the right up partway, then hide in the shadows to let it pass over you. At the top of the slope is a Shine Sprite and a Save Block. Roll to the right, then up some steps. At the top is a wooden panel. Ground pound it and drop down to the hallway behind the hallway where the box of Boos was. Roll to the west and you'll drop down into a room with a parrot and some chests. There's a Power Plus badge and a Mr. Softener in the chests. The parrot says some basic parrot phrases. Hide in the shadows and it will say it was almost nice to have some company, since it was locked in here. The parrot knows the Duplighost's name and guards the missing letter. It says that this is no way to treat a parrot. It wants a cracker and calls Doopliss a big meanie. Emerge from the shadows and it freaks out. It goes back to acting like an ordinary parrot, this time saying "Shine Get!" Open the boxes to the left to get the letter "p" and the Steeple Key. The key allows you to leave the room. Go east. Vivian is ready to teach Doopliss a lesson.

Go back outside of town and input the Duplighost's name. Doopliss freaks out and starts feeling faint. He runs away past them. Return to the top of the steeple. He wants to put an end to this and Mario's partners are ready to fight, especially against a shadow that's teaming up with a Shadow Siren. Hearing this, Vivian figures out that the shadow is really Mario and leaves. The battle stars. It's the same as before, but the partners will also attack. You can attack them as well. If you defeat them, the others will appear in the order you met them. Be sure you can guard against their attacks. After a short while, Vivian apologizes to Beldam for joining Mario's party permanently. Mario was the only one who was kind. Use attacks like Power Bounce and Shade Fist to defeat Doopliss. The partner freaks out when he's defeated and you'll get around 20 SP. Once Doopliss is defeat and the illusion is gone, Mario turns back to normal and the ruby Crystal Star appears. Doopliss calls them "killjoys" and jumps out the window. The partners figure out that the Mario they were hanging around wasn't real. Koops says they might have been "shellwinked". Yoshi wants to know why Vivian is on the team and Mario sticks up for the Shadow Siren. Vivian officially joins the party and gives Mario the Crystal Star, which increases his Star Energy and gives him the new special move, Art Attack.

End of Chapter
Mario defeated the rogue who had stolen his name and appearance. Now Mario has four Crystal Stars. That leaves a mere three more to find! And THAT means his quest to collect all of the Crystal Stars is more than half over! Now Mario heads off toward his next adventure with his new friend, Vivian... ...But what about Beldam and Marilyn? And what became of the doppleganger, Doopliss?

Back in Twilight Town, Beldam and Marilyn are waiting. Beldam says Vivian is very late. Doopliss runs by.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door -- Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls -- Part 1

Twilight Town is a dimly lit, depressing town, with creepy music. A resident walks up to greet Mario, saying it's been a while since anyone came from outside. He notices Mario might be an adventurer, which may make this a bad or the perfect time for him. The resident is about to tell Mario a scary tale when a bell rings. The resident panics and turns into a pig. The mayor of the town appears and takes Mario into his house. He says the town is cursed by a creature who lives in Creepy Steeple in the forest. The curse is that when the bell tolls, a resident becomes a pig. None of them can sleep and the village will become a pigpen before long. The mayor implores Mario to leave before the curse hits him. Mario's partner asks about the Crystal Star. The mayor doesn't know about the Crystal Star, but knows of a glittery, red, star-shaped stone in Creepy Steeple. The mayor says Mario shouldn't go there.

Go outside and you'll find a Star Piece between the two left houses. There's also one in the shrub near the tree. There are many crows in the trees, but all they say is "Caw". Go east and you'll find a Star Piece behind the fence near the tree. In the left house is a woman with three children. They are hungry, but her husband turned into a pig, so she can't feed them. Give her a food item in exchange for a Shooting Star. The bell will toll and she'll turn into a pig. In the item shop, someone is crying. Go inside and you'll find the shopkeeper and a pig. The shop isn't open. Her husband turned into a pig and she wants him back to normal. She'd offer him the items in the storeroom, except it is locked and her husband had the key and probably lost it. Go to the gate and you'll learn that you need the mayor's permission to leave. The bell will then toll. Go back to the mayor's house and you'll find he's turned into a pig. Now Mario can't get permission to leave. The bell will toll again. Go to the gatekeeper, who is also now a pig. There is nothing stopping Mario from leaving town. Go east.

There's an empty shack just outside of town. Check inside it for a Black Key. You'll find new enemies here: Hyper Goombas of all varieties. They all have 8 HP and 2 attack. They can charge up their next attack. Regular Goombas and Paragoombas get 8 attack power when charged, and Spiky Goombas get 9. Up ahead, you'll see a pig and a fallen tree. On the other side is a key, but you can't get past the tree. Have Koops retrieve the Shop Key and use it to unlock the storeroom. There are some items here and a Black Chest. The regular chest contains the Defend Plus Badge. There's also a Life Shroom, as well as a Boo's Sheet, and a Jammin' Jelly. Check out the Black Chest and it claims to not be like the others, saying it won't curse you. It wants out and says it planned on giving Mario a new ability to go special places. It begs for Mario to unlock the chest. Unlock it and it calls them fools. It asked what did he expect. It will unleash the king of curses, one that will make you know the pain of having one's body roll up so that they can't walk. Hold [R] and rotate the Control Stick repeatedly to roll up like a cardboard tube. Press (B) to return to normal. Use this new curse to get past the fallen tree.

On the other side of the fallen tree is a Star Piece. On the right side is a large straw hut. Have Flurrie remove it to reveal a pipe. The pipe takes you to the background. Walk to the left into the forest. In the forest, you'll find many Crayzee Dayzees. They have 7 HP and 2 attack. Their lullaby will put you to sleep unless you guard, which is tricky. Guard right at the end of the lullaby. They will run away when their HP is low. Flip sideways to slip between some plants to reach the back path. Walk to the right for an Earth Quake in an item block. Go to the left and you'll find the Hammer Throw badge in an item block. You'll also find Hyper Clefts. They have 4 HP, 3 attack, and 3 defense. They can charge their attack power to 9. You can defeat them by superguarding, using items, Gulp, and Earth Tremor. It can also be advisable to run away. At the end of the path to the left is a tree. Use Flurrie to reveal a hole in the tree. Go through the hole into the background. Walk to the right to enter another part of the forest. There is a clearing ahead. Use Flurrie's power on the clearing to reveal a wooden panel on the ground. Ground pound the panel and drop down the hole to reach the background. Push the rock in the background to the right to move the rock in the foreground. This will reveal another hole in the foreground. Go back through the hole and go through the newly-revealed hole to reach the other side of the rock. Near the east exit, behind the front tree is a Shine Sprite. It's not directly behind the tree. Go east to reach Creepy Steeple.

Creepy Steeple is unnerving Mario's partner and they want to leave as quickly as possible. You can heal and save outside. You can jump down the well, where you'll find many Buzzy Beetles and Spike tops. They each have 5 HP, 3 attack, and 4 defense. If you can flip them over, their defense drops to zero. You can't go very far into the well, but you can get the Tornado Jump badge and a Shine Sprite. Aboveground, the gate to Creepy Steeple is chained shut. There's a gap in the stone fence to the right that Mario can roll under. Walk behind the fence to the left for a Star Piece. Go inside.

Inside Creepy Steeple is a creepy stained glass window. Near the entrance is a gap in the wall Mario can roll under. It takes you to a room with a Shine Sprite and a chest. The chest contains the Cookbook. The Ice Smash badge is here, along with a Star Piece behind the furniture. Return to the main hallway and walk to the right. There's a statue of a Crystal Star. Push it to the right to reveal a hole in the floor. Drop down and you'll see a door and a peeling wall. Peel the wall to reveal a hole. Walk all the way to the right for a chest with the Flower Saver badge. Go through the left door and you'll find a purple box. Open it and many Boos will fly out from it. The last Boo will ask you a quiz question: How many Boos in total came flying out of the box? Answer 200 and it will call you a math nerd and give you an Ultra Shroom. Spring back up to the main hallway and you'll see a Boo crying. Be careful around it. If you choose to talk to it, it will ask if you're going to be mean to it. If you say you're not, all 200 Boos will appear and follow you around. Move quickly before they swarm you and kick you out of the steeple. If you're fully healed and they crowd you, do a couple of Super Hammer attacks to knock them away. A Boo says Mario said he wouldn't be mean, so he tells the other Boos to get Mario. They swarm to form a large Boo called Atomic Boo. It has 40 HP and 4 attack. It can squish Mario, scare Mario and his partner into not attacking or attacking each other, or send hundreds of Boos at them both. Guard repeatedly for that last attack. There are Boos in the audience who can make anyone onstage transparent so attacks miss. Use Power Bounce and Ground Pound to defeat Atomic Boo as quickly as possible. Defeating it and it will drop the Lucky Start badge.

In the middle of the hallway are two doors: one on the front wall and one on the back wall. Go through either one of them. You'll find yourself on the veranda, where there are Boos and Swoopers. Swoopers have 6 HP and 3 attack and can hang from the ceiling. Hit it with Hammer Throw, Body Slam, or an earth-shaking attack to knock it off the ceiling and have it fly within jumping reach. Boos have 7 HP and 3 attack. They can become transparent so all attacks will miss. At the end of each hallway is a red switch and a door that leads inside. Hit the switch on the front side of the steeple first, then go through the doorway. There are stairs here that move in response to which switch was hit. Only go up the stairs and through the door when the staircase is not at the middle door. That will only make you drop into the main hallway. Move the staircase to the front and go through the door. This will take you to the second floor of the main hallway. There are gaps in the floor. At the end of the hallway is the Steeple Key. Use Koops to reach it. Go back through the door and move the staircase to the back. Go through that door and you'll reach a locked door and a Save Block. Through the locked door is a Heal Block. Go up the stairs and spring up once you reach the top.

A voice will ask you why you're interrupting it's "Me" time. It's a Duplighost wearing a party hat, the monster the mayor warned them about. It's been thinking up pranks and thought up the prank to turn the villagers into pigs. It says that the villagers are depressing and boring, so it decided to let them wallow in mud, instead of gloom. It attacks. It's ?????, an enemy with no listed name in the Tattle Log. It has 40 HP and 4 attack. It can transform itself as well as other stuff, which is probably how the villagers turned into pigs. Use Ground Pound and Power Bounce to get it some good hits. After a while, it will scan Mario and copy him in shadow form when it has about 14 HP left. He has Mario's jump and hammer attacks, so guard accordingly. You'll get about 20 SP for winning. Mario yells as the shadow falls and the Crystal Star falls out from the shadow. Mario picks it up, but looks exhausted.

End of Chapter
Mario defeated the scourge of Creepy Steeple and found the fourth Crystal Star. The people of Twilight Town have surely recovered from their awful curse by now. At this rate, Mario's quest to collect all seven Crystal Stars will be done in no time! With his back to Creepy Steeple, Mario sets out toward his bright future...