Sunday, June 30, 2013

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 19: Ice Cold Darkness

Bowser's made it the second floor of Peach's Castle. Roll to push the device back to launch Bowser. Push it all the way back to launch Bowser into the sky. Some giant Fire Piranhas are growing up there and hit Bowser with fireballs. He lands on the balcony, in flames. "I HAVE CHORTLES!" Fawfulcopters appear and say, "Are you liking them? The giant Piranha Plants Fawful has raised? They are enjoying the barbecue of whatever goes near their mouths! Do they give you the angry face? Then just fly up and hit them with spikiness! Oh, but I have sadness! Tears of laughing for poor Bowser, who does not fly! I HAVE CHORTLES!" On the inside, the Chest Station is reacting. Jump into the cannon in the center and it will send the bros to what resembles a sling-shot. Tugging it makes Bowser jump. Pull all the way back to make Bowser jump really high. Tug in various directions to make Bowser go the way you want him to. Don't hit the Chomps or let the  Piranha Plants eat you on your way up. Try to stay towards the center. At the top are the giant Piranha Plants. Hit them repeatedly while dodging their fireballs. As they take damage, they become paler. Once they are defeated, Bowser drops back down to the castle, no longer on fire.

Go west and slam into the cracked for to drop down. You'll land in the servant's quarters. Use the treadmill to open the path to the east. Go south three times, heal, and save. Go south and then north on the left side of the room. Fawful, Midbus, Peach, and the Dark Star are this room. "I HAVE CHORTLES! AND I HAVE EXCITEMENT! At last, the Dark Star awakes like a naughty napping baby!" Midbus brings Bowser to Fawful's attention. "Fawful hates your timing! A nuisance barge barging in a the critical time for us!" Bowser just wants Peach and the Dark Star and he'll call it even. Midbus says he'll deal with Bowser. "I have uneasiness... Bowser keeps appearing like an ugly rabbit from the hat of a magician who stinks! So Fawful will fight to help Midbus have victory! But Midbus has pride... So Fawful leaves him to you! MIDBUS! POWER UP!" Fawful pulls out a ray gun and shoots Midbus with it, powering him up with ice powers.

As always, Special Attacks work best. Midbus will make Snawfuls, Fawfulized snowmen, that Bowser can inhale. Let the bros deal with them using Fire Flowers. Any that remain will heal Midbus. The Snawfuls will melt down and create vapor clouds. When six of them appear, Bowser will exhale the vapor, which will freeze and land in Midbus's crown, preventing him from using certain attacks. He'll climb up to the ceiling and throw snowballs at Bowser, many of which will miss. Just duck when you need to. He'll also slam Bowser from the ceiling. He'll roll in on a giant snowball with a Bob-omb in it. Punch the Bob-omb to blow up the snowball. When you do enough damage, he'll hide the Bob-omb in the snow, so try to keep track of where it is. Sometimes, he'll punch Bowser. A few rounds of Broggy Bonker should be enough to deal with him.

Once he is defeated, he says that no one will beat Fawful. He freezes in place, spewing icy vapor from his nose. The glass encasing Peach shatters and the Dark Star wakes up and breaks free. "It it it it it it it... IT WAKES! It has awakeness at last! Fawful has waited so long! I HAVE SUCTION!" He breaks out his headgear, saying, "With this, I am taking the Dark Star's Power!" Lightning strikes all around and the exit is blocked. "I... have... DARKNESS! So very darkness! The dark power builds like a skyscraper of evil! With the dark power in me, the world.... The world... IS FOR FAWFUL!" The dark power transforms Fawful, but Bowser punches him away, saying the world is his. He wants to take the Dark Star, and the world with it. The Dark Star circles Bowser, with mouth agape, then splits apart and enters his body. Bowser tells Starlow the Dark Star tasted funky. His chest starts burning, so he inhales some of Midbus's vapors for relief. This makes the Airway react. The freezing air freezes the water in the pipes. Starlow says freezing and thawing the water will make it possible to reach new areas. She also tries to convince Luigi that he's not cold. Heal and hit the Save Block. The enemies are tougher here, making this a good place to train.

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 18: The Key to Magic

Bowser's been freed from the safe, so the bros return to him. Starlow wants advice, but Bowser's back hurts and he can't move. The Lumbar Nook is reacting, but first go to Toad Square. Talk to Toadbert on the top level. He's been having a weird dream. In it, he's drinking tea and time is passing slowly. Then, he hears (A)(B)(X)(Y)[L][R](Y)(X)(B)(A) being pressed. Time starts passing quickly. Now, with that little information, head to the Lumbar Nook.

Toadsworth is there, enjoying some peace and quiet. The bros explain that they came to heal Bowser's back. Toadsworth noticed the floor became hard and darkened. He suggests stimulating the spot in the center, but his cane isn't enough. Have the bros drill into that spot. It starts working slowly. Toadbert appears and wants to watch. Their dialogue emphasizes that this process will take a while. They have tea and Toadsworth sets an alarm for when the process will be done. You can let the process go on its own, which will take several (more than 5, possibly more than 10 minutes), or start pressing the buttons from Toadbert's dream. The alarm should go off within seconds of entering the 10-button combination. The area returns to its normal color and Bowser feels his back loosening up. He feels better than normal and is flexible enough to roll into a ball. He can safely roll over spiky areas. This is the spike ball move, which allows him to roll up areas with soft dirt and destroy statues. Use [R], then hit (X) to roll into a ball, then roll around.

Starlow informs Bowser that he's in Peach's Castle, the Dark Star will awaken soon, and that he needs to save Peach. Roll up and out of there. Go south twice and destroy the Fawfulized statues. One of them has a Chakroad. Bowser has to deal with the enemies here. One Mechawful has a Blitty. Roll up into the turret to get into the castle. Inside, you'll find Alarm Bob-ombs and Naplocks. Inhale the Alarm Bob-ombs. A Naplock has a Blitty. Go west twice and you'll come across three Fawfulcopters with keys. Fawful says, "Fawful won't lie. Fawful has shock at you getting here. But that shock turns to chortles as you stop here! There are doors here that need keys, and Fawful has them! You will wander forever in my modified castle of Peach until you cry from lack of doors!" Bowser says he'll break the doors down. "You have energy like a little angry battery with no friends. But even if you get past the doors, the castle of Peach... Oh, but I have secrecy! Fawful says no more! Are you catching my Fawfulcopters?"

Go south to the dining area. There's a Save Block and the Fawfulcopter with the blue key. It's behind the statues which you can destroy by rolling. It will fly off and go west. Follow it south, then back north again. It goes into the hole in the wall. You'll find Dark Trashures here, which give more money than regular Trashures. One of them has a Blitty. Roll up the back wall onto the stovetop to enter a different hole in the wall. Chase the Fawfulcopter out of there and follow it south. There are Dark Mechawfuls on wheels to deal with. One of them has the last Blitty you need. When the Dark Mechawful starts counting down, just before it reaches zero, punch to counter it. Duck when it fires a beam, then punch it when it stops. If Dark Fawful Guys appear on the top screen with a bomb over the enemies, inhale them to make the bomb drop. This will give you a great advantage in battle, if not end the battle entirely. The Fawfulcopter goes to the south over a spike pit. Push the green, shell-like device to the back to launch Bowser into the Fawfulcopter, making it drop the key.

Once you have all fifteen Blitties, give them to Broque Monsieur. The Blitties lie around the shop. Broque Monsieur gives Bowser a Block Band, Block Fangs, and a Block Ring. He also lets Bowser take him for a walk, which gives Bowser the Special Attack Broggy Bonker. Use the stylus to clean the dirt off of Broggy, then he'll attack the enemy twice, with all fifteen Blitties in tow. It is an incredibly powerful and cute attack.

Go through the northeast doorway, then go north through the door on the left to another spike pit with the green key. Follow it around and pin it into the wall to get the key.  Go north, then west to the Save Block, then west to Peach's room, then west twice to a dirt wall. The Fawfulcopter with the red key is here. Follow it up the dirt wall and get the red key. Go north of the Save Block to find the doors the keys unlock. The green door has an Economy Ring, which reduces SP costs by 50%. The red door has a bunch of Magikoopas in a cage. Free them and Bowser can use Magikoopa Mob. Use the stylus to draw lines to light up every Magikoopa's wand to attack the enemy. The blue door leads to a spike pit with another shell-like device to launch Bowser. There are items to get here, so push it back varying lengths. To move forward, push almost all the way back and go through the left doorway on the top. Heal and save.

To the north, you'll see a machine with time bombs. Go east three times to a dirt wall. On the right side, on one of the platforms, you'll find a couple of gears. Spin them to raise a gate to the left. Quickly climb to the left to pass through before the gate closes. This requires precise controls, so it may take a few attempts. You can also go to the platform above and drop down. Roll west, then drop down the dirt wall and go west. This leads back to the room with the time bombs. Roll on the treadmill to lower the wall and use the time bomb to blow up the cracked wall. Go west three times from the room with the time bombs. Electricity will crackle on the floor below. Jump over the Bob-ombs and go east twice. Roll on the treadmill and blow up the wall. Go north twice, heal, and save.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 17: Extra Star Power

Mario and Luigi have all three Star Cures and have landed in Toad Town. If you want to go shopping at the Star Rank shop, level the bros up to level 25. Shopping there is quite an experience. The bros' HP and SP are fully restored. They are also offered complimentary foot massages and whisker shaving, the latter of which is refused. Some particularly good (and expensive) items are the Gumption Socks, which revive the wearer after one turn, and the Tight Belt, which reduces the SP costs of all Special Attacks by 50%. When you're ready, go to the clinic.

Dr. Toadley's gotten things under control since we've last seen him. He takes the three Star Cures and combines them into the Miracle (Toadley) Cure. He sends it out to cure the Blorbs. The bros get it back so they can break the blockade. Dr. Toadley doesn't know if it will defeat the Dark Star, however. Talk to the intern to get the Attack Pieces for the Special Attack Mighty Meteors. It's like Smash Eggs. The bros will volley a meteor back and forth with their hammers, but first they have to move back to line up with the meteor, then hold back the hammer. If the meteor is volleyed enough times, or all enemies are defeated, it will explode, possibly releasing an item.

Now that the blorbs are cured, you can explore more houses in Toad Town's residential area. When you're done, go north to the bridge to the castle. The Miracle Cure blasts through all of the barriers. There's an ominous feeling at the gate of the castle. Past the gate, the bros see the three blue Paratroopas fly east. There are new enemies to deal with, like Mechawfuls and Metal Mawful Moles. Follow the Paratroopas east and you'll find an Attack Piece. You can't reach it just yet, but you can walk on the railings. Use that to go into the turrets and reach new areas without dealing with enemies. Walk on the east railing to reach a shell, which you can use for the Attack Pieces. You get seven from that one block. The Paratroopas fly in, saying the bros look well. The Attack Pieces belonged to them and two of them want them back. The other one wants coins in compensation, thirty to be exact. What they don't realize is that 30 coins is chump change, making them think the bros are high rollers. They ask for 300 coins. Pay them and they are amazed. They'll tell the bros where the last 3 Attack Pieces are. They mark the map, but the pieces are in invisible blocks.

The first one is to the far west. The Attack Piece is over the hedge, south of the part of the wall with the picture of a mushroom. Go north, then east to the castle's front door, lined with Fawfulized Peach statues. It's locked, so Mario suggests going through the rear entrance in the garden. Go back west, then north on the left side. Use the air vent to reach the northern-most pillar for the second Attack Piece. Go south, then go into the tower on the east side, then exit. Go east, up the side of the wall and send Mini Mario into part of the castle. The third Attack Piece is on the wall, on the third tile to the right from the gap. The Attack Pieces give you the Special Attack Falling Star. A large star flies through the sky, changing colors. Starlow turns into a cursor you can control and the bros will throw as many smaller stars at the flying star that's flying around. The smaller stars will clusters and trail the large star. The large star will land on the enemy, with the clusters and individual stars following. Go back west, then north twice and go into the turret. Heal and save.

To the north is a trash pit. There's running water, so have Mario drink some and have Luigi use his hammer to extinguish the fire. This creates a tornado for Spin Jumping. To the east is more trash. Midbus appears, saying the Mario bros are famous. Peach's Castle now belongs to Fawful and they are not going any further. Starlow wants to challenge him, but he says the Dark Star will awaken soon. He makes a robot out of the trash in the pit. He orders the robot to fight, but it shuts down. It then starts dancing. Midbus breaks the controller and the robot goes berserk.

It's time to fight Junker. Use Special Attacks, as always. He'll make Junker Cans appear, which will attack the bros. Junker will put a cover over a bro's eyes, so he'll wander aimlessly. Junker will throw Thwomps at the bro, so jump to stop the bro from walking under the Thwomp when it's about to fall. Junker will pick up a Junker Can and shake it to release enemies. Jump for all enemies except the Cheep-Cheep, which will jump over you. He'll also vacuum up Luigi and throw him into a Junker Can. Destroy the Junker Can to free Luigi. The Junker Cans contain enemies that break free when you defeat them, so be ready to defend yourself. A few good rounds of Falling Star will finish him off fairly quickly (three in my case, so he didn't have much time to attack).

After you defeat Junker, he is still going berserk. He runs through the trash, clearing it out. He then brings in a safe and drops it, revealing Bowser. Mario says they should return to Bowser's body soon, as he might be able to storm the castle better than they can. Junker runs to the south and crashes somewhere. Go south and you'll see a Save Block, a pipe into Bowser, and a trashed Junker. Exit to the west to hit a ! Block that opens a grate, making it easier to return here. Return to Bowser.

Friday, June 28, 2013

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.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 15: A Blast from the Past

The bros get to enjoy some more fresh air outside of Bowser. Now that the bros can tunnel underground, they can get the remaining six Mushroom Balls. Some of them have beans. Check out the Shine Rank Shop. When you're ready, go to the clinic. The Toad with the red cap and brown spots is an adventurer looking for Attack Pieces. He lost his memory, but knows there's some in Bowser's Castle and on Plack Beach. Go into the room to the north marked with a Mushroom. There are lots of blorbed Toads. There's a small gap in the right wall. Tunnel under and move right to find some item blocks. Go talk to Dr. Toadley. He says the third sage is on the beach, Plack Beach. The sage is in a high place where the air is thin. Dr. Toadley can't recommend traveling at high altitudes, so he needs to give the bros an examination. In the back room is a machine that measures inhalation and exhalation. When he gives the signal, blow into the microphone. Mario passes easily. Luigi doesn't pass initially, but blows out the system on his second try. The bros have his permission to travel to find the sage.

In the waiting room, the intern is trying to get Birdley, the bird that sent the bros and Bowser a message about the second sage, to calm down and stop flying over the reception desk. He says he's overworked and on strike. The intern asks the bros to catch Birdley. To the right of the reception desk is a red air pipe. Approach it and Mario inhales some air and balloons out. Luigi holds onto Mario and jumps much higher, and descends more slowly. Mario exhales to return to normal. Use this to jump onto the reception desk. Catch Birdley once Mario exhales. The intern thanks the bros and says that Plack Beach is south of Blubble Lake. Birdley starts nesting in Mario's overalls. He can show the bros around.

Return to Broque Madame, who talks about Kuzzle, the sage on Plack Beach who likes puzzles. She says a cure was stolen from him. She also talks about aliens visiting the Mushroom Kingdom long ago. Heroes in red and green vanquished them, but she heard a rumor that some were preserved somewhere in the kingdom. In another session, she speaks about holding that special someone close because you'll only realize how important they are when they are gone. She hints that her special someone collects blocks.

While wandering around Blubble Lake, the bros will encounter enemies they'll have to battle, that Bowser instantly defeated. They include the Fawflopper and the Mawful Mole. The Mawful Mole will throw rocks at the bros. Check its glasses. If they are covered in mud, the rock will miss, so stay still. Get the beans while you're walking. There's quite a few in Blubble Lake. Go east to find a pipe back into Bowser. Open the passage so you can quickly return here from inside Bowser if you'd like. Farther to the east is the area where Bowser body slammed the pillars. Go past the grating and hit the ! Block so you can reach an item block with some gear. Next to the grate is a narrow gap, allowing the bros to reach the other side of the area.

To the east is Bumpty Plains. You may run into Sneeds, the seeds of Flifits. Go to Bowser Path. In the room with the Save Block, in the lower right corner is an X. Dig there and a pink ramp will temporarily appear. It will allow you to reach a piece of gear. Go to Bowser's Castle. The hole behind the posters is something Mini Mario can fit into. There's an item and lots of money. To the right is a blue pipe in the concessions area. Tunnel under the grate and take the pipe underground. This leads to the Bowser Secret Society Preservation Chamber. Heal and save outside.

The buttons that open the door must be hit in a specific order, each a specific number of times. There are notes in the area that explain the combination. Down here, you'll have to deal with Magifoofas and Fawful Guys as well as the enemies Bowser dealt with. The code is "Hit square twice, triangle three times, circle once, then the button on the door." The door opens and Starlow's got a bad feeling about this. Inside are blocks of ice. It's hard to see, but some of the things in the ice look familiar. Hit the button on the left to melt some of the ice. Three Shroobs were frozen in there. Luigi backs up and freaks out. Mario freaks out soon after. Mario explains that these are the aliens that once invaded the Mushroom Kingdom, which the bros defeated as babies (and adults). Bowser cryogenically froze some survivors. The Shroobs wake up and attack. They fight the same way as they did in Partners in Time. Their lasers are quite powerful. Use Special Attacks. Defeating three Shroobs takes longer than you think it should. Once they are defeated, the Shroobs explode into 10 Attack Pieces. This gives you the Special Attack Magic Windows. Looking at the SP cost, I think I got the attack a little early, but it's a good one to have. Mario and Luigi will drop in on enemies from windows that appear. Hit each bro's button. They may jump together. The attack will continue until you defeat all enemies or mess up the action command. Starlow doesn't believe that Luigi could help defeat the Shroobs as a baby. Mario explains Luigi fought just as hard and Starlow thinks it was some ferocious crying. This makes Luigi sad. Mario explains Luigi defeated them in the end (with his tears). She apologizes and calls him super. Now let's go find that sage!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

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.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

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.