People do challenges of the first two Paper Mario games all the time. Thereās an entire community and fandom wiki dedicated to the types of runs you can do. Iāve done one before this,Ā āMario Aloneā which uses Action Replay codes to set every partnersā HP to 0, thus making Mario the only member usable. However, I cheated a bit during the run (the one I specifically remember being using Save States to get aĀ āBingo!ā during the final boss and heal) and ultimately feel my attempt was invalid as a run. This brings me to a new run, something I wanted to make myself.
One more thing! I came up with this idea on my own. However, Iām not the only one to have done this. I found out today that KoopĀ has done all the bosses in this run too. Iāve updated the description of this blog fromĀ āfully originalā toĀ āslightly originalā to compensate for this.Ā
Guys. The pit of 100 trials? Itās hard. Holy mother of pearl, this thing hurts sometimes. Iāve made 7 attempts in my free time and gotten to floor 74 at max. I know I canĀ do it. But Iāve been taking a break from it for a while. This is the last challenge I can attempt on my file. When I do it, I can hang my hat on this blog and archive it. But until then... Iāll just have to keep trying. Thanks for sticking through the silence. Iām doing my best.
Chapter 8: A Dragon, 3 Mystical Beings, A Cyborg, A Giant Turtle, and A 1000 Year Old Demon all want me dead.
This is the big one! The final chapter of the video game. We entered the Palace of Shadow and begun our trek to the innermost chambers. Hereās the line up of Battles:
Gloomtail
Shadow Sirens Redux
Grodus
Bowser + Kammy Koopa
Shadow Queen
GloomtailĀ
Gloomtail is the brother of Hooktail, who we fought all the way back in Chapter 1! Hooktail was a pushover, but how does her brother fare? He has 80 HP, 2 defense, and 8, 10, or 16Ā attack. Donāt worry, the 16 attack is always after he charges for a turn. Using Vivian, we can veil to avoid it. (Even if he does it 3 times in a row, like for me). Relative to the rest of this chapter, pretty easy.Ā
Shadow Sirens Redux
You know how Vivian, the third Shadow Siren is in our party now? Yeah. The other 2 recruited Doopliss to help. They have 40, 40, and 30 HP respectively, and no defense. The hardest part about this fight is that youāre taking 3 hits at once, but Clock Out is your friend here. Use that repeatedly and they wonāt be able to make a move!
Grodus & Bowser + Kammy Koopa
These final 3 fights were streamed live on my twitch! If youād like to take a watch, the link is below below, but iāll give a brief summary here as well.Ā
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/954368310
This fight is ROUGH. You see, you have to beat Grodus first and then fight Bowser and Kammy Koopa without saving in between the two. That means your luck has to be immaculateĀ for even a chance at beating both fights. About 12 attempts in, I realized that if your partner isnāt out during the turn switch from you to the enemy, Power Lift stays active. In tandem with Quick Change, this allows you to do the following steps:
Power Lift Mario and Whichever Partner youād like to beef up
Use the partnerās attack. Youāll have to let the timer tick down at least once.
Next Turn, switch order so your partner is in front. Attack with them, then use Mario to put another partner out.
Attack with Mario
When itās your turn again, switch to the beefed partner and then repeat steps 3 & 4.
Your partner is now powered upĀ āpermanentlyā
This was neededĀ to beat these fights, and probably SQ as well, though Iāve only attempted her once at the time of writing this. I recommend checking the video out so this all makes more sense.Ā
Shadow Queen
I got insanelyĀ lucky during the Shadow Queen fight. It took me 3 attempts total and the last one was crazy. Let me start at the beginning.Ā
Phase 1: Shadow Peach
After possessing Princess Peach, Shadow Queen has 150 HP, 0 defense and a myriad of attacks from 3 to 14 damage, all piercing. Defense will notĀ save you now. She can also give herself more defense and attack. With power lifted Bobbery, I was doing about 9 damage per turn plus whatever Mario had. This phase, you just have to get her down to about 80 HP, not fully kill her. The strategy from before remains.
Phase 2: Shadow Queen True Form
When you get her low enough, she heals back to 150 HP and begins this phase. (after some cutscenes). 2 things are important to note.Ā
The cutscene heals you for full FP and SP.
Thereās a scripted shine sprite Bingo! which will heal you AGAIN for full FP and SP. This means you get 3Ā moves with full action commands of pure whaling on her before youād have to heal yourself or whatever.
I used these turns as follows:
Power Lift Mario/Bobbery; Bobbery Bob-ombasts
Bobbery Bob-ombasts again; Mario switches Koops in and uses Clock Out, which fails 70% of the time.
Clock out succeeds, Bobbery bombs.
Next there were 3 turns of her stunned. This was just pure action, with Bomb and Power Smash from both Party Members. At this point sheās at 67 HP. Itās worth mentioning that at least 7 of that damage is from stage hazards. The fog machines at front exploded her twice and there was a fork. Somehow, I got her down to 22 HP. Some well done power smashes and bombs, and the fight will be over. Iām averaging 17 damage a turn, so I power smash. That makes her at 14 HP. She takes her turn, it misses. I bomb with Bobbery. 5 HP left. The stage effects activate. The fog machine explodes once more dealing 5Ā HP to her. I won. I beat the game.
If you donāt want to watch the full fight, watch the clip of the last 2 turns. I promise itās worth it. Itās one of my favorite moments in my gaming career. With that, lets talk Statistics.Ā
FINAL RESULTS
Stats:
1 HP / 30 FP / 66 BP
Game Overs:
This Chapter: 26
Total: >62
Badge Setup for Final Fight (Ordered Most BP to Least)
Quick Change
Power Plus
Power Plus P
Defend Plus (x2)
Defend Plus P (x2)
Flower Saver
Power Bounce
Pretty Lucky (x3)
Pretty Lucky P
Unsimplifier
Close Call (x5)
Close Call P (x5)
Power Smash
L Emblem
Attack FX P
Total Playtime:
28:56
Up Next: Pit of 100 Trials and thoughts on the run as a whole. See you then!
All I did for this Chapter Interlude was get 2 more close calls and 1 more close call P (from goomba drops in Petal Meadows. Thanks, Mowz!) I didĀ trade everything in to Dazzle, sold the badges I didnāt need and participated in some gambling. If Rush Badges were allowed, Iād be unstoppable, so Iām glad I changed the rule on that. I was super eager to work through the Palace of Shadow, so I just hopped right in. Sorry if this is disappointing, but I prefer to have the 100% round-up post game. See you soon for Chapter 8!
Holy cow, a comedy video game from a well-known publisher in which part of the climax is the main character and their partner(s) going to the moon? Thatās right! TTYD did it 7 years before Portal 2. Itās super cool and the music in the dungeon on the moon bops. Hereās a link, you should listen while reading this for maximum effect. X-Naut Fortress.
Major Battles:
Elite X-naut fight
Magnus Von Grapple 2.0
Major Events:
The Crane Game
It would be fahr out of you to click thatĀ āKeep Readingā button, eh?
After arriving at the moon, it doesnāt take much time to find the fortress. Itās off in the background so you know if itās there second you enter a room. Using Bobbery to blow up a pipe, you enter. Immediately following the first room, you fight...
Elite X-naut
These guys have 10 HP, 1 Defense and 5 attack. We canāt take them out with one attack so I put partners in front and hoped for Close Call to do its job. Finished the fight using only bobbery.
The Crane Game
The Crane Game gives the last star piece, Feeling Fine, And Feeling Fine P which prevent status ailments on you and your partner. Now, we can trade every star piece to Dazzle and get every badge from them. Hooray!
Magnus Von Grapple 2.0
HP is 70, Attack is 3, 6, or 9, Defense is 2! Heās weak to theĀ āSoftā status ailment, so I immediately used Soft Stomp on him to break down that Defense. From then on out, I was able to use Yoshi to deal 6 Damage per turn. With a couple Power Bounces and some Stampedes, he got down to 1 HP and I hammered him for the final hit. Chapter 7 complete! WAY more satisfying that if iād used Mega Rush Badges, to be honest. I died once to him as well.Ā
Iām including the first bit of Chapter 7 in this too, just fyi. General White and Goldbob has never felt like Chapter 7 proper, so whatever.
Major Events:
Lumpy visit 3
Merlon visit
A change of rules
General White & Goldbob
It may be cold outside, but clickĀ āKeep Readingā and join in around the fireplace as I tell you the tale of Fahr Outpost.
Lumpy
Lumpyās back! Lumpyās back! Since I gave him 300 coins, he returns 999, the maximum amount you can carry! I obviously knewĀ this would pay off since Iāve played before but I like this side plot. Now we can buy many a thing from the Howz of Badges with little consequence. (The badge list for this post will be long)
Merlon
Now we have access to every shine sprite in the game. So every single partner can be upgraded. Hooray! I missed one in Twilight Trail, so I had to postpone upgrading Mowz, but she will be upgraded before we go to the moon.
A change of rules
I know. Itās late in the run to be changing rules, BUT... I was bored. So, Rush badges are now unequipped. This means my damage per turn wonātĀ be 50. I want the game to be difficult again.
General White & Goldbob
The General White quest is commonly thought of as the worst part of the video game. This is not wrong in my opinion. You are tasked with finding General White, who you saw in Petalburg during Chapter 1. Going back to Petalburg and talking to the townās Greeter reveals that General White went to aĀ āSouthern, Tropical Islandā
Going to Keelhaul Key and talking to Pa-Patch reveals he went to an Arena.
Going to Glitzville and talking to Podler reveals he went to a big tree.
Going to the Great Tree and talking to the puni greeter there reveals he went to a dark area.
Going to Twilight Town and talking to a random twilighter there reveals heĀ ālooked tiredā.
AND FINALLY, going back to Fahr Outpost and talking to the mayor reveals General White is in his house in town. Did that feel long? Itās worse playing it.Ā
Goldbob is easier, you just have to give him all your coins, but he gives them back.
Now we can Blast Off to the Moon!
Badges, Stats, and Game Overs
This list of badges will not have the location or means by which they were obtained. Most are the Howz of Badges or Charlieton. Apologies for the inconvenience.Ā
Defend Plus P, Power Plus P, FP Plus, Attack FX G, Unsimplifier, Fire Drive, Soft Stomp, Ice Smash, Damage Dodge P, Attack FX P, Super Appeal, Super Appeal P, Power Rush, Jumpman, Simplifier, FP Drain, Slow Go, Timing Tutor, Refund, HP Drain P, Last Stand, HP Plus P, Flower Saver P
Chapter 6 takes place on the tongue-twisting Excess Express, comprised of exactly 6 train cars. For the most part, battles do not exist on the train. Itās all story and exploration. This means this will be a shorter post even though I really like Chapter 6.
I will, however, give a brief explanation of each day and the mysteries solved because I WANT TO.
Major Battles:
Smorg
Major Events:
Day 1
Day 2Ā
Riverside Station
Day 3
Choo Choo! All aboard theĀ āKeep Readingā train!
Day 1:
Day: A pot of stew is stolen from the kitchen. Using observational skills of the stew splatters on the carpet and expertĀ interrogation skills, the guest in cabin 3 is revealed to be the culprit. Giving the pot back rewards us with a star piece. An ongoing mystery begins where Mario is threatened with aĀ āsticky, yummy, explosionā
Dusk: Bub, the tiny bob-omb in cabin 8, wants something for his birthday. The hints given are that itās someoneās autograph and that he lovesĀ trains. The engineer signs a paper for us and we give it to him. Give it to him, and get a shine sprite.
Night: The conductor is 1 blanket short. Someone might be a stowaway! Using Vivian to hide in cabin 4 reveals the ghost of a toad. He asks us to get his old diary from his time alive, and so we trade that for the blanket.
One small issue. To progress to the next day, we have to sleep in the bed in our cabin. This technically counts as healing, and refilled my FP from 17 to 25. This is required to progress, and I had no other choice. Iām making a train exception. Apologies if this is disappointing.
Day 2:
Day: The businessmanās briefcase, the waitressās earrings, and the passenger in cabin 2ā²s gold ring have all been stolen. These items combined are said to be able to create that sticky yummy explosion (the briefcase contains details on a type of Honey Syrup). Finding multiple pieces of paper leads us to Zip Toad, the passenger in cabin 1, being the culprit! As we return the items, it becomes dusk and Doopliss sheds the disguise of Zip Toad and runs away. Briefcase return advances the plot, Earrings give a star piece, and ring gives 30 coins.
Dusk (Riverside Station):
The only dungeon in Chapter 6, weāve got Poison Pokeys, Spiked Parabuzzies and Ruff Puffs. I died once, and then equipped Spike Shield to kill the Parabuzzies easily. In this dungeon you get....
The Ultra Boots! Which upgrades Marioās base jump attack from 2 to 3.
You use your hammer on some weird navy things in the basement, lower the drawbridge and continue forth!
Night: Go to bed. Nothing happens. Another illegal heal. Sorry.
Day 3:
Day:
SMORG
One of the toughest bosses in the game if youāre not prepared! I once had no reasonable badges, no coins, and just a general lack of skill and got stuck on this guy for a while. This time, to preserve the feeling of difficulty, I used ONLY Mario. You first have to take out eachĀ āSmorg Miasmaā, which you canāt do all in one turn as Mario Alone. Once I took out all three, a single power bounce did the trick, but I was glad to have not done it in just one turn.
And we arrive at Poshley Heights! Thatās about the end of the chapter, so Iāll get into the...
BADGES STATS AND GAME OVERS
Badges:
P-up, D-Down (Riverside)
Close Call P (Riverside)
L Emblem (Poshley Sanctum) [I look like Waluigi now]
Merlon, the guy who upgrades our partners, tells us to go back to Hooktail Castle near the Cursed Chest. Now, with Bobbery, we can break a wall in the castle and get the Up ArrowĀ
Bringing this back to Merlon allows us to upgrade our partners twice! At the end of Chapter 5, I had 12 shine sprites (and Bobbery had no upgrades), so I upgraded Bobbery twice, Goombella again, and Hornet. While in Hooktail Castle, I found Koopook who gave me the Special Card which allows MORE GAMBLING at the Pianta Parlor.Ā
Boat Panels in Rogueport
Four Boat Panels are set off in Rogueport, two in the sewers which lead to three shine sprites total and two above ground that lead to badges and a star piece.
Chapter 5 takes place on Keelhaul Key (which is, as an aside, my Animal Crossing New Horizons town name), a tropical island filled with trees, beaches, and vengeful spirits? oh boy, here we go
Major Battles:
Spikes.
Bulky Bob-ombs
Cortez
Crump
Major Events:
Bobbery!
WHAT? A FOURTH TIME?
If thoughts on my run be yer treasure,Ā āKeep Readingā marks tha spot!
PARTNER GET!
Admiral Bobbery: The lastĀ partner obtained during the run. Heās an old seadog, and has a wonderfully writtenĀ tragic backstory. He can explode enemies in two ways, one withĀ āBombā that works directly, and one withĀ āBomb Squadā that allows him to set time bombs down on the field that damage enemies nearby. He and Koops are the only partners who can first strike and attack enemies on the field. A wonderful last addition to our party.
Spikes
Most of my Game Overs this chapter were wrought not by enemies, but by stupidity. I jumped on a piranha plant twiceĀ which automatically deals 1 damage. Then, thereās this room.
(view from above taken from noclip dot website)
This Room. Always gets me. at least 3 times. Those holes? are spikes. Youāre supposed to use Paper Mode or Vivian to avoid them when they periodically come up.Ā Normally, Itās ok. You just lose 1 HP and try again. By chapter 5 you should have like, 30 HP. itās fine. But, hazards are INSTANT game overs in Peril Party. So I died multiple times to these guys.
Bulky Bob-ombs
This never happened to me, but if you use Vivian or Bobbery on these guys, itās almost an instant Game Over, too. theyāll explode for 2, 5, or 8 damage if you let them and if you use Bobberyās Bomb or Vivianās Fiery Jinx or complete Shade Fist, their explosions are all triggered. These guys are formidable in a normal run, so donāt poke them in the wrong way.
WHAT? A FOURTH TIME?
There be 4 cursing chests in this game! This most recent one, along with calling me a fool as usual, turns me into a boat if I pressĀ āYā over boat panels! This is the last curse on the run, so it wonāt get harder in that respect.
Cortez
Cortez is the Chapter Boss! A pirate spirit haunting the island, he has 60 HP split evenly over 3 phases.
Hereās the thing about Cortez. I expected the worst.Ā With only 2 attacks per turn, thereās no way I can take out all his phases in one turn. Itās impossible. Or is it?
On this episode of Fun Facts about TTYD, did you know that your turn resets when Cortez completes a phase? Itās inconsequentialĀ during a normal run, youāre not gonna be doing big damage in those numbers, but for Peril Party? It means that we can just... Ground Pound 3 times with Yoshi. Boom! Fight done. Next!
Crump Rematch
Crump is actually... eerily similar to Cortez. Hear me out. Crump has 60 HP split evenly over 2 phases, is a boss that summons other goons (Weapons vs X-Naut Platoons) and drives a ship during the final scene of Chapter 5. Anyway. Turn doesnāt rest for Crump when you take out one phase, so thereās a guarantee of at least one attack in there from him. Close Call comes in clutch and the chapter ends with a way home.Ā
Most of this chapter interlude was spent hunting for star pieces. Hereās the line up!
Major events:
Mowz
Jolene
Dazzle
āKeep Readingā for more details!
PARTNER GET!
Ms Mowz: The onlyĀ optional partner in the entire series (not counting pixls)!
A trouble appears after Chapter 4 fromĀ ā????ā asking for an elusive badge. Mowz then sends you on a quest back through Hooktail Castle, which let me get all the Star Pieces in panels from Chapter 1. When you get back, she joins your party! Her attacks pierce defense and itās pretty cool.
Tree Hunting
Went back to the tree for star pieces. I would have taken a trouble for one of the characters in the tree, but the only one tasks you with taking a life shroom to the Puni Elder, which is BANNED because life shrooms.
Jolene
Jolene has a trouble where you pick up stuff from the storage room. This let me get the rest of the star pieces in Chapter 3. She also put me back on the roster for the glitz pit?? So I fought the Goombas again twice and then decided I was bored.
Twilight Town Hunting
Hunted in Twilight Town for Star Pieces, too, bringing the total to 31Ā Star pieces.
Dazzle
Traded allĀ of the star pieces in. Covered more below in Badges, but hereās (an approximation of) whats leftĀ in Dazzleās inventory.
Happy Heart
Heart Finder
Peekaboo
Power Plus P
Badges:
Last Stand (Random Drop)
Hammer Man (Charlieton, 180)
Spike Shield (Chest unlocked with Vivian)
Attack FX B (Trouble with Mowz)
Super Appeal P (Flurrie House Chest)
Double Pain (Charlieton, 36)
Power Plus (Dazzle, 15)
Flower Saver P (Dazzle, 10)
Happy Flower (Dazzle, 4)
Head Rattle, Piercing Blow, Simplifier, Sleepy Stomp, Damage Dodge (Howz of Badges)
Section 4, Subsection 2: A Shadow of Your Former Self
Ok. I lied. Thatās not all of Section 4. The game does theĀ āEnd Of Section!ā cutscene, and you can save your game like normal, but thatās not where it ends. See, the demon has committed Identity Theft to the most literal of terms. Now he looks like Mario, and Mario looks like...
Well, heās totally violet. You need to find a way to reclaim your name and body, and quick. That ghost is galivanting around in your body!Ā
Major Battles:
?????
Doo_liss
Major Events:
Vivian
Bird
Walking
?????
On the way back to the village, the demon, still in your body, will ambush you. Guess his name, and he says heāll give you everything back. Veterans, like me, of course already know his name. Thereās just one issue. The lowercase letter betweenĀ āoā andĀ āqā is missing. So we canāt say what his name is, without first going to the location where the letter and his name are. And, no, you canāt use the big version of that letter. I try every time...
The battle is unwinnable. Neither you nor the demon do and damage. You have to run away.
ALLY GET!
Vivian. Remember the shadow sirens that we fought in Section 2? The youngest decides to join you since youāre nice to her! She, of course, doesnāt know youāre Mario, given your stolen name and body, so this might get awkward later... Eh, best not to think about it. She has Shade Fist and Veil. Shade Fist hits for 3 base damage and Veil lets you avoid any attackĀ the next turn, at the cost of her next move. Veil will be useful. Just you wait. We need to sneak back to the Scary Church and get that letter, fast. I dont know how long I can continue without using it.
Bird
Thereās a bird in the Scary Church that guards the letter and knows the demonās name. Finally, we obtain the Lowercase letterĀ āpā and tell the demon his name is Doopliss! Just as an aside, purple poltergeists pick prickly pears per Peter Piperās problematic precepts. That has nothing to do with Chapter 4; I just wanted to use the letterĀ āpā again. Some crows in Twilight Town also said that telling Doopliss his name will get rid of his unlimited magic.Ā
Walking
This chapterās main problem is walking. In total you walk to the Creepy Steeple and back 3 times. It wouldnāt be as annoying if the path changed or there were different ways to get there, but the whole chapter is kinda based around progressing like a pendulum, going back and forth. I donāt think itās as bad as some people say it is, but I was definitely tired of it after I told Doopliss his name. He could have just fought me there, but I had to run back through the hyper goombas and Crazee Dayzees. Itās just a mild inconvenience.
Doopliss
Doopliss uses your previous partners against you! However strong they were, you have to fight them! ā¦Kinda. See, they donāt get the same badge power ups as they had before. But, they have the same HP levels. So I made it a fun little side goal to take out all of the partners, too, even though they all have 1 HP. Vivian leaves at the beginning of the fight, since sheās realized youāre really Mario, but comes back later in the fight, rejecting her sisters. Now sheās part of our party for good! Heās pretty easy to take out, by the way, especially after Vivian comes back. Hit him for 40 HP and reclaim your name!Ā
Chapter 4 takes place in Twilight Town, a village plunged in eternal dusk. The village has been cursed such that every time the bell in their clock tower (known as the Creepy Steeple) rings, someone in the town will turn into a Pig. Your job is to confront the demon in the Creepy Steeple and stop the curse. This chapter is pretty short, so this post will be too!
Major Battles:
Amazy Dayzee
Atomic Boo
?????
Major Events:
Again? Are you kidding me?
āgnidaR peeKā kcilc ,kniht I tahw ees oT
Again? Are you kidding me?
Once again, Iāve been CURSED! Now, when I hold R and spin the control stick, I turn into a little paper tube! How am I supposed to manage this? This is the 3rd curse on the run and I donāt know if I can take many more...
Amazy Dayzee
This. bastard. has plaguedĀ me every casual run Iāve done. It has 20 HP, 1 defense,Ā deals 20 defense piercing damage while putting you to sleep, and can run away. If you manage to beat it, you get the greatest reward of all, experience points. Iāve neverĀ beaten one in game.Ā
Until this run. You see, the strategies employed during Peril Party make you the most fragile of Glass Cannons. But, as a result 20 HP of damage is no different from 1 HP! So this thing isnāt as scary. I used Hornetās ground pound to take this thing out and the results were highly satisfying.
Atomic Boo
Some Boos reside in the Creepy Steeple. At first, there will be none, then you have to open a chest with 200 of them in there (correctly guessing that thereās 200 will reward you with an Ultra Shroom... so basically 50 coins). Then, one will be in the main lobby and ask if youāll be mean to it. Answering no will make them all swarm you and using your super hammer from Chapter 3 to get them off will result in an optional boss!
With 40 HP and the use of Hornet, heās kind of a push over. He gives you the badge Lucky Start, though, which can be useful!
?????
???? This is the demon of the Creepy Steepleā¦ But the thing has no name. Whatever. Can still hit him with a hammer. An interesting thing about this fight is that heās scripted to transform into you, but you can deal all the necessary damage to kill him before than. If that happens, he silently regains 10 HP after the cutscene of transformation. Generally easy fight, although that stipulation means he has to attack at least once.
And thatās the end of the chapter! Mario gets the Ruby Crystal Star and the village is saved!
Chapter Interlude 3-4: GET IN LOSER, WEāRE GOING SPELUNKING
This one hurt a bit. Youāll see why.
Major Events:
Badging
Trouble Center
Hell, or, at the very least, an unpleasant Limbo
Yāall be clicking that Keep Reading button, yāhear?
Badging
After the Glitz Pit, I had about 200 coins and some badges to sell, so I went to the Lovely Howz of Badges which got a stock of Power Rush (P). This works like Mega Rush (P) but adds 2 damage for danger (>5 HP). Pretty Lucky P and Last Stand were available too, so I grabbedĀ āem.
Had 10 star pieces so I got Flower Saver from Dazzle.
Trouble Center
I wanted access to one of the Games at the Pianta Parlor. I wanted to GAMBLE. So, instead of taking the easy troubleĀ āFind a guy you already know the location ofā, I took the hardĀ troubleĀ āEnter the Pit of 100 trials and get to floor 18.ā
Hell, or, at the very least, an unpleasant Limbo
The Pit of 100 trials is a challenge presented by the game. It contains 90 floors of enemies with every 10th floor having some reward for you. You see, the trouble itself,Ā āget to floor 18ā³, isnāt hard. Not even with 1 HP only. What is hard is my personal goal,Ā āget to floor 50.ā Floor 50 has the admittedly stupidly named Strange Sack, which lets Mario carry 20 items instead of 10. Do I need it? No. Have I ever even had to throw something of value away for inventory space? Also no. Do I want it? Absolutely.
I write this section during a mental break from doing the first 18 floors over and over. The closest Iāve gotten is floor 49, so I knowĀ this is possible for me. Iām stubborn about this. It will happen.
.
.
5Ā game overs and 1 and a half hours later, I did it.
Chapter 3 is one of my favorites. I know I say everything is my favorite in this game, but this oneās special. Iāve been thinking about chapter 3 since I came up with the run idea! If youāve never played, you may ask yourself, why this one?
Chapter 3 takes place in the aptly named Glitzville, a floating city in the sky. The whole area you explore in the chapter is tinyĀ relative to the other chapters. But the setting takes a backseat to the real reason this chapter is exciting. Glitzville is home to the Glitz Pit, a professional fighting ring. The championās belt has the crystal star you need to complete the chapter. As your partners will say, thereās only one way to get it. Fight to the top.Ā
Around 20 opponents, ranging from 5 goombas to a Koopatrol, to not one, but twoĀ special minibosses. Each battle starts with a condition, for example,Ā āDonāt use any items!ā If you fail the condition but win the fight, you refight the opponents you just did. This is why Iām excited. The chapter is built around battling, which I have made much more difficult. That also means this could be the longest post yet, as Iād like to talk briefly about each battle, given thereās a set number.Ā I will, at most, say one thing about each battle. With all that said, hereās the chapter line up:
Minor League (bottom rank to top rank):
Goomba Bros
KP Koopas
Pokey Triplets
Dead Bones
Spike Storm
Hand-It-Overs
Mind-Bogglers
Punk Rocks
Bob-omb Squad
Title Match: Armored Harriers
Major League:
Tiny Spinies
Poker Faces
Shell-shockers
The Fuzz
Magikoopa Masters
Craw Daddy
Hamma, Bamma, and Flare
Chomp Country
The Koopinator
Champion: Rawk Hawk!
Other:
Macho Grubba
Major Events:
Yoshi!
As before, clickĀ āKeep Readingā to see how it went!
MINOR LEAGUE
legend: normal text for the condition means no change in fighting style
italic text means active change in fighting that I did
Bold means I didnāt complete the condition
(Bold and italics means I could have completed the condition but didnāt)
Goombas:
āAppeal Onceā; Close Call worked every time.
Koopas:
āNo special movesā; Goombella overpowered
Pokeys:
āDonāt use your hammerā; Koops only could attack, but easy
Dull Bones:
āDonāt use itemsā; Could have powershelled but relied on a close call chance
Spinies (1):
āLet the enemy damage you 3 timesā; impossible fight. beat them normally.
Spinies (2):
āDonāt switch your partnersā; some stalling with lakitu holding a spiny above his head, but better
Bandits:
āDonāt switch your partnersā; i didĀ power shell here.
Boggly enemies:
āUse a special moveā; Clock Out takes us to the end of the fight (Sweet Treat is unavailable)
Hyper Clefts:
āUse a special moveā; Clock out again because I didnāt want to use Earth Tremor, Stylish moves are your friend.
Bob-ombs (1):
āDonāt use your hammerā; I just forgot not to do this. I was writing all of them down, so I knew, I was just afraid of the explosions
Bob-ombs (2):
ā5 turns or lessā; Iām already taking out 2 enemies a turn, baby.
Iron Clefts (1):
āLet your enemy damage you 3 timesā; which would be fine, just a refight but as is, this first fight is Unwinnable. They have infinite defense. I must lose. Luckily, something I havenāt mentioned is that the Glitz pit doesnāt count dying as a Game Over. Iāll still add it to the counter, though. Now, we have a tough decision to make...
Partner Get!
This is our next partner. He has no name, although Mario Wiki refers to him asĀ āMini-Yoshiā. The thing about him is, you, the player, name him. I had not thought about this yet. I got the Green Yoshi (there are about 8 variants?). Iām going withĀ āHornetā because he hits fast and repeatedly for small amounts of damage and is small himself. It occurs to me I think thereās a superhero named the Green Hornet? This isnāt a reference to that, I promise.Ā
Hornet can useĀ āGulpā to hit the iron clefts against each other, winning the fight. Letās do this.
But first... Iām gonna upgrade him at Merlonās. I have the Shines since i didnāt use them on Flurrie and it seems like a good idea.
Iron Clefts (2):
āWin in 5 turns or lessā; Gulp costs 4 FP bringing the total FP I have down to 2. I canāt heal per my rules, so I have to wait for a level up.
Spike Buzzies (1):
āWin in 5 turns or lessā; They have big defense, I died.
Spike Buzzies (2)
āDonāt use your jumpā; Second verse same as the first.Ā
Spike Buzzies (3):
āDonāt use your jumpā; I used an item to do 5 damage to one killing it, and won.
Bristles (1):
āLet your enemy damage you 5 timesā, Koops is king.
Bristles (2):
ā5 turns or lessā, same.
Shady Koopas:
āDont let your partner attackā, A little tough, but Koops tanking hits helped.
Fuzzies:
āDonāt use your hammerā, Left the Flower Fuzzy for last, won easy.
After this fight, a piece of cake appears. It heals you, but you can opt out. Thereās another after the Bros fight thatās from the champion and is poisoned, so normally youād eat the first but not the second. I just didnāt eat either per the rules.
I didnāt document Magikoopas, Dark Craw, Bros, Chomps, or Koopatrol well. Chomps and Magikoopas I know I fought twice, Magikoopas because of an actual loss, Chomps because of a bad condition (think it was take damage). For Koopatrol, I used Shell Shield with Koops and that worked very well. That takes us to...
Mini-Boss: Rawk Hawk
āUse at least one special attackā. With 40 HP, this guy is a tank! ā¦ is what I would say if we didnāt get Hornet this chapter! Ground-Pound does numbers with Mega Rush P. Normally, it deals 5 separate instances of 1 damage, but with Mega Rush P, it deals damage counting down. So right now, for me, it deals 6, then 5, then 4, then 3, then 2. Which just so happens to equal 20, HALF of Rawk Hawkās health. The condition doesnāt really matter for this fight but I did it anyway. Piece of poisoned cake!
Almost immediately after, we sneak in on the owner of the ring who admits to himself to using the Crystal Star to keep himself young forever. Itās a no holds barred,Ā āIf you hit 0 HP itās a game over for realā fight against...
Macho Grubba!
This bossās whole gimmick is stat changes. He will first up his chances to attack, taking two actions per turn! After this, heāll up his attack or defense and attack in the same turn. So! The plan is simple: Defeat him in 2 turns.Ā With Yoshi out, he does 40 HP for us, so we need to find a way to do 20 HP with Mario. Luckily, Power Bounce acts about the same as Yoshiās Ground Pound. With a little strategy, we win the fight, EZ PZ.
And thatās Chapter 3! I didnāt talk as much about the story in this post, because I really wanted to focus on the battles. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am for doing so.
Stats! Badges! Game Overs!
Stats:
1 HP / 20 FP / 21 BP
Badges got:
Power Plus P (Glitzville Chest)
Charge P (Glitz Pit storage)
HP Plus PĀ (Glitz Pit storage) [Will Sell for Money]
Game Overs:
0 technically, but I lost 4 times during the Glitz Pit fights.
Chapter 2-3ā²s interlude introduces the best character. In the game. I donāt make the rules, and while I amĀ biased because of a memory, I think itās impossible to hate him. Letās talk about it.
Talking Points:
Merlon Visit 2
Lumpy Visit 2
Don.
Badges & Stats
Merlon:
I visited Merlon again. At this point, if youāve collected everything, youāll have 6 shine sprites, enough to fully upgrade your team. But... Iām a spiteful jerk and only upgraded Goombella, not Flurrie. I have no practical reason for this except that Flurrieās Rank 1 involves healing, which is banned. Maybe just some kind of a challenge, maybe Iām just stupid. Por que no los dos?Ā
Lumpy:
I had some extra change from 2 HP based badges that are, obviously, useless to me. So, I gave Lumpy 2 more 100 coin installments. Heās all ready to go, and Iām happy for him.Ā
DON:
DON. MF. PIANTA. He is my favoriteĀ character in the game. You didnāt think there was gonna be a Mob Boss in your fun Mario game, huh? Well guess what, there IS. Don Pianta is the leader of the Pianta Syndicate, and Mario needs to bargain with him for a Blimp Ticket to get to the next chapter. Mario is tasked with finding his daughter and subordinate who are planning to elope. Itās, as he calls itĀ āa whole soap opera.ā Don is cold outside, but his close followers tell you heās got a big heart, and is happy at the end of it all, even after yelling at his daughter and future son-in-law, saying he never wanted to see them again. So to recap, Don is great because
Heās a huge subversion of whatĀ ācanā exist in a Mario game
Heās a complex character with conflicting goals and feelings
He speaks with a brooklyn accent in text.
TTYD is the third use of Piantas in the Mario franchise ever and thisĀ is their main screen time. absolutely stellar.
