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Bison's Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Playthrough!


HolyMBison
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How Frequently Should I Do Post-Chapter Reviews?  

2 members have voted

  1. 1. How Frequently Should I Do Post-Chapter Reviews?

    • I want to see single digit increases! (Once per chapter)
      1
    • I want to see double digit increases! I need those sick gains! (Once every other chapter)
      1
    • I want to see over the top ridiculous swole-age (Once every three chapters)
      0
    • I want to see gains in the triple/quadruple/quintuple digits! (Other)
      0


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Hello everyone!

I have been lurking on the forums here for a few months and was recently inspired to make an account. I decided to start off my first ever screenshot Let's Play with one of my favourite Gameboy Advance games.

Superstar Saga is an action RPG, with a focus on the action. Unlike in typical RPGs where player input is limited to selecting a target to attack and with what, Superstar Saga involves you in the action by having you execute well timed button presses during a fight to get maximum damage. This results in the game being much more immersive than a typical RPG. I am going to be explaining the mechanics in more detail as they appear.

[spoiler=Chapter 1: The Journey of Mario and Mr. Green Part 1]
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I always like to take a moment to look at the title screen and main menus in games. I love the record book motif of the game files.

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Peach's Castle. This can only end well...

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Oh. I was expecting Bowser to show up. I guess that gifts are always-

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Of course. It is literally impossible for good things to happen to Peach. Even the other kingdoms are out to get her.

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The "obvious main villain" alarms are going off like no tomorrow. Peach gets some fart gas blown in her face and knocked out. The cameraman goes on a drug trip and starts seeing psychedelic colours. Strangely, the dastardly duo do not kidnap her. Why even bother knocking her out if you are just going to leave her here?

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The villains egress to the witch shaped....thing in the sky. Where is Mario when you need him?

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Well, Luigi is here I guess. He seems a bit busy with the laundry though. The castle is clearly visible in the background, so why can't we see the ominous cloud of death?

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A Toad hustles into the scene because of bad stuff happening. Finding Luigi to be of no help, he runs into the bros' house (that I totally did not forget to screenshot) to search for Mario. Fun fact: I did not know you controlled Toad in this scene when I first played and ended up waiting for like 5 minutes before I realized I had to move.

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Some of the details of the Casa Mario. Does everyone have a such a large picture of peach?

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Uhm Toad that is the bathroom maybe you shouldn't-

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Toad catches a glimpse of the Italian Stallion and decides that bashing his head into the dresser is the best way to deal with it. Mario gives him the standard treatment to get him to reveal some important information. Mario dashes off and gets dressed (which I totally didn't forget to screenshot) and drags Loogi off to the start of the adventure!

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The Bros. arrive at the castle and catch Bowser from behind. It's fine because he is probably up to no good anyways. The first fight begins!

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A typical fight screen. The bottom left corner has some information about Mario's status. The top number next to the heart is HP, and the bottom number next to the red and green pill are Bros points, which will be discussed later. The only attack Mario knows right now is jump (figures). This is were the action element of "action RPG" comes into play. If you press the A button just before Mario lands on the head of an enemy (see screenshot 3) he successfully completes the jump and does full damage. if you do not, he sort of just falls onto Bowser for less damage.

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Another crucial part of battle is dodging. You can press A to make Mario jump over Bowser's flames at the right time to avoid damage. You can even use this to counterattack some enemies!

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After a few more attacks, Bowser goes down. Mario reigns supreme!

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Suuuuuuuure you would have.

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The plot gets explained. Although the bad guys did not kidnap the princess in full, they did manage to steal her voice. That must have been what the fart gas was for. No wonder her new speech is so....explosive.

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Mario is called to action. Bowser agrees to help out as well, but only to his own ends.

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RIP.

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Mario messes around in a plaza for a while, gathering items and helping out the toads. I totally did not whiff the jump in screenshot 6 four times. Refusing to return the mushroom that is on the ledge (screenshot 7) lets you keep the mushroom (you spiteful ass) but if you say you will return it you get to keep it AND a super mushroom.

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He went thatta way.

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Luigi sure is happy to see Mario head off...

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The save screen. The area you are in, coin and game time counter, and level indicator are nice touches. As is the stamp to let you know when saving is complete.

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Sup Toadsworth. Thanks for the allowance money.

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Luigi is kind of a coward and thus is going to stay at home. He still loves Mario though, so he is going to tip his hat to him.

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Sick turnout Bowser. Your baddies must be too scared of Mario to get near him. That, or they have an incompetent leader...

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Luigi joins the cause!

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Despite his best efforts at being a coward, Luigi is snatched up and tossed headfirst into adventure!

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Mario and Luigi are now officially a team! They always stand in a line, and either brother can be in front. Notice how Mario's icons at the top right are always red and Luigi's are green. The buttons they use are different depending on who is in front, but the colours are the same.

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The inside of the suitcase, along with the items and equip screen. Pants will always have effects on health and defense. Other equipable accessories will have effects on different statistics.

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Finally, the moment you've been waiting for! Base stats! The stats are broken down as follows:

HP - Health. Self explanatory.
BP - Bros. Points. Will explain later.
POW - Power. Affects how strong all your attacks are.
DEF - Defense. Affects how well you can take a hit.
SPEED - Affects the order of turns. Whoever has the highest speed moves first, followed by the second highest, etc. After the last person goes the cycle repeats.
STACHE - How groomed, elegant, and shiny your mustache is. Affects Lucky hits (criticals are different) and store prices.
EXP - How much EXP you have.
NEXT - How much EXP it will take to get you to level up.

Right off the bat, Mario is a little bit stronger and significantly faster than Luigi is. He also has a slightly more well trimmed stache. Luigi has higher health and defense, so is more tanky than his brother. Also of note here is that Mario needs less exp to level up than Luigi does. Perhaps because all his previous adventures have left him so experienced?

This is all for now, but I will hopefully upload the rest of this part either tonight or tomorrow. Comments and feedback are welcome!

Edited by HolyMBison
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[spoiler=Chapter 1: The Journey of Mario and Mr. Green Part 2]

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Adventure!

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Makin' my way downtown through the Koopa Cruiser. Bowser summoned the Bros. to the main deck.

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Uhm well you see the thing about that is....

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...That I totally had them the whole time! Yup, I am super prepared for this journey. Thanks, Toadsworth!

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God damn it Toadsworth. You had one job. Thankfully, the photographer koopa agrees to take our passport pictures for free.

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Sure, as long as you agree to stop breaking the fourth wall.

...

I lied I am totally going to strike a sick pose

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Perfect. Entering the Beanbean Kingdom with class.

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The baddie we helped earlier gives us a 1 Up Mushroom for our troubles. It's nice to be nice.

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The Bros. rampage through the bowels of the ship, wrecking conveniently placed barrels with no regard for the value of property. They are scolded by a crew member, and made to fight some elite troops. One can only shudder at the thought of what horrible, soulless monster Bowser has prepared to test you. Will the Bros. be able to face this Lovecraftian creature of the abyss with all of their sanity intact? As the thought of impending doom crosses Mario's mind, he starts to say his last prayers as the koopa opens the-

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Oh it's just some goombas

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This battle formally introduces counterattacks, as well as Luigi in battles. Regardless of their orientation on the overworld, Mario always uses A and Luigi always uses B in Battles. These goombas are poo tier so the bros wipe the floor with them. In case it was not obvious, it is a running theme in this game that everybody knows who Mario is, but nobody knows who Luigi is.

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Mario level get! In addition to the normal stat gains, there is also a bonus wheel that you can use each level up. You choose one stat and roll the wheel to get a randomly generated boost to that stat. Boosts range from 0-5 and will change based on how you allocate the bonus wheel each level up. If you boost one stat very often, the bonus wheel will have low numbers (like 0-1). If you boost a stat infrequently, it will have much higher numbers. This mechanic helps you to better balance out your stats. Fun fact: the first time I played this game, I did not know you could choose which stat was boosted. I allocated all my bonuses to HP because it was the one the wheel started on. Mario is my go-to guy for power, so I boost that for him.

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Some more helpful advice from the baddies. If you jump on an enemy in the overworld, they start the battle taking damage. Luigi gets a nice level as well. He is still lacking in speed so I use my bonus wheel on that. I didn't capture it right, but he got 1 bonus speed.

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More battles. As you can see in screenshot 2, I whiffed the jump attack. That is what happens when you miss.

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We activate this koopa's fetish device to clear the barrels out of the way so we can get to the deck...

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...but things do not go as planned. Mr. Pinch mistakes Luigi for a hank of garbage and yanks him off the ground. At least he gets a free ride to the deck.

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It is a peaceful night on the deck of the Koopa Cruiser. The stars are out and the view is JESUS LUIGI go see a doctor that is not healthy eye movement!

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Our villain gets a name, Cackletta. Considering half of her dialogue is "Eeeya ha ha ha" it is very fitting. Headgear boy also tags along.

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This guy has a really unique and interesting way of talking. His usage of grammar is a little....fawful...though.

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Boss battle go! The brothers take on gearboy while Bowser lies down on his lazy ass. As you can see, Fawful pretty much tells you who he is going to attack. Almost every enemy in the game who can attack either bro has a tell as to who they will attack. Thankfully, the later ones get more subtle. Also Bowser why aren't you contributing to the fight? Your flame breath would sure come in handy. I don't want hot tips from you, I want hot streams of death!

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Fawful switches it up with an attack that hits both bros in turn. but then we break his headgear. This chump is the Cackletta's sidekick?

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Thanks for the heads up.

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A few more jumps and Fawful gets wrecked. They beat you using the mystical powers of gravity.

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What no get back here! Fight me you cur!

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That was actually 3 fell swoops but hey who needs to count right

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RIP counter: 2

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Thankfully, the explosion did not seem to kill our heroes. In fact, it seems to have turned them into saiyans instead! Those "meteorites" are suspiciously Italian, General Starshade.

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They made it to the border! Well, Luigi did at least. Where could Mario be though?

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Oh, there he is. RIP counter: 3.

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Just kidding, he's fine. The Bros. are back in action! I'm sure that the Bowser Baddies are fine as well, so let's round them up and...

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...oh....

[spoiler=Appropriate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4

That marks the end of this chapter! More to come soon. Stay tuned for our first foray into the Beanbean Kingdom!

Edited by HolyMBison
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I like it when lurkers play some of my favorite games.

I may follow this if I'm not stupid and inevitably forget.

Also I literally know this game like the back of my hand so I totally will not yell at you if you miss one little thing nope.

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I like it when lurkers play some of my favorite games.

I may follow this if I'm not stupid and inevitably forget.

Also I literally know this game like the back of my hand so I totally will not yell at you if you miss one little thing nope.

Be prepared to yell, because I am totally not getting those Harhall pants

Chapter 2: Stardust Crusaders Fields Part 1

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I guess they are alive after all. They point us in the direction of Bowser, who got lucky and didn't need to show the guards his embarrassing passport photo. Well, as lucky as a dinosaur thing can be after their ship explodes and they fall from orbit.

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Swanky border station.

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This isn't quite what I was expecting. Where are the x-ray machines and assault rifles? Where is the guy who checks for discrepancies on my legal documents? Maybe I have been spending too much time on the border of Arstotzka. Another recurring theme is revealed in this scene: Nobody knows who Luigi is EXCEPT other "Bros" characters. So, naturally, the Border Bros. know who he is.

So anyways, how does this work? Do we just show you the passports or...

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Oh. So we just have to jump to cross the border? Why did we even bother with the passport photos?

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Passport jump montage. The Border Bros. will shuffle around with their rope and you have to jump over it with the appropriate Bro. If you touch the rope, you lose a life. Each bro has 3 lives and if either one loses all three, you lose. And before you ask I totally did not lose a life nope I did it on purpose to make it more challenging

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Yeah, not surprising. Everybody else was probably expecting a normal checkpoint and Mario and Luigi are the only competent jumpers in this universe apparently. Then again, this is probably as "normal" as things get in this game.

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Out first look at the world. Almost every location we visit is present on the map here, and they are represented with decent detail for a map such as this. Gaze into the smiling faces of the forest in the bottom left.

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Our first look at a green warp pipe and the warp screen. We will unlock more of these as we go along.

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Stardust Fields traversal and battle montage. The area is littered with moderately high walls (see screenshot 4) that even the famed jumping power of the Bros. cannot overcome...for now. The area has a nighttime feel to it and the crystals scattered throughout really make the "stardust" part of the name feel appropriate.

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Heeeeeyy there's our buddy. How did he manage to land exactly where the cannon was? Oh well, at least he didn't have to take a dirt nap like his minions.

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Fun fact: I did not even know this guy had a name. The Bros. are forced to give up their allowance money to the bully so he will let their friend free.

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Wow, the economy of the Mushroom Kingdom sure is crappy. Maybe because their main sources of income are floating blocks? Either way, we are sent on a quest to pilfer an additional 100 coins from the rotting corpses of our defeated enemies.

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Another montage, with some new mechanics introduced. The bicycle blocks (screenshot 2) are suspended in midair (don't ask how) and move forward by alternating presses of the A and B buttons. Bullet Bill launchers are also introduced. They shoot bullet bills (duh) and have higher defense than the fly things we have been facing up until now. They can only shoot at the Bro in front of them. Although the bullet bills can be jumped on to knock them out of the way, there is no way to do counterattack damage to them. We also see our first of many poorly captured Lucky hits (see screenshot 5). Lucky hits do double damage and are based off your Stache points.

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Mario and Luigi both nab a decent level. I decide to emphasize power in both Bros because Luigi sorely needs it and Mario could always stand to be stronger.

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Get it its like area 51 but less conspiracy and more bit wars

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The Mario Bros. meet and mess around with the Starshade Bros. for a while. I would like to take this opportunity to say that Starshade is a sick name and I wish it was mine.

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The Starshades, being Bros, also recognize Luigi. Another recurring theme of this playthrough: me forgetting to screencap the dialogue boxes that indicate that they recognize Luigi.

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The Starshade Crusaders agree to teach Mario and Luigi their first Bros. Actions! Bros. Actions are overworld AND battle actions where both bros work together to accomplish a task. Each Bros. Action is unique and has varying effects, both on the overworld and in battle.

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The first Bros. Action we learn is the high jump. It requires Mario to be in the front. Luigi selects the action (with L) and jumps on Mario's head. Because of the thoroughly messed up physics in the Mario world, this causes Mario's body to become a spring, propelling the two of them up higher than they could ever reach before!

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The second Bros. Action we learn is the spin jump. For this one, Luigi must be in the front. Mario jumps on Luigi's head (who is totally fine with supporting the weight) and then spins the two of them around like a helicopter, allowing them to hover. This translates to them being able to spin jump across long distances without falling. Both of these moves will prove essential to traversing the harsh lands of the Beanbean Kingdom.

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Chapter 2: Stardust Crusaders Fields Part 2

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With some new moves under their belts, the Bros set off to collect the rest of the moolah to free Bowser. What is this mysterious "Bros" action that now appears in battle? I have a feeling we will find out soon...

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Figures. Military types always want to rush straight into the action. So what is it, exactly, that you forgot to tell us?

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Oh I guess it was that you are ABOUT TO BRING ON THE PAIN TRAIN

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Turns out it was just a harmless tutorial. The mechanics of Bros. Attacks are now explained to us. Bros. Attacks use up a number of BP equal to the number displayed beside the name.

The number "1" inside the blue circle (in the middle of L and R) represents the level of the attack. Attacks go from levels 1-3. Levels will be explained below.

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An example of how Level 1 Splash Bros. works. The buttons are there for all to see and time slows down to accommodate the newbies. As you can see, Bros. attacks require you to do multiple button inputs at the right times. The inputs for Splash Bros. are A, B, A.

Level 1 makes the attack go in slow motion with clearly displayed inputs. Level 2 makes the attack go at normal speed with clearly displayed inputs. Finally, Level 3 makes the attack go at normal speed with no input prompts.

Bros. Attacks at higher levels do more damage and use less BP, so I will always be using the level 3 attacks. I will be saving all of my BP for bosses however.

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Navigation, battles, and coinage get. As you can see, we now have way more than the number of coins required to free Bow-wow.

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The Bros. Seize some more levels. I get Mario some extra BP because he is lacking in it and give Luigi some lessons in going fast. Time to go and free Bowser.

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This grimy asshole will not live up to his end up the bargain! Time to teach people what happens when they betray the Brothers Mario.

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Our first real boss battle begins (Fawful doesn't really count) with a perfectly executed Level 3 Splash Bros. The difference in Level 3 is moderately visible in the screenshots.

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Luigi then gets things going with a Bounce Bros. attack that I totally did not whiff the first time. I also totally did not forget to screenshot the name of it in the menu and take screenshots that accurately represent it.

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The rest of the battle montage. This dude throws spike balls at you, some of which you have to jump over and some of which hurt you if you jump. I ran out of BP eventually and took like 5 hits because I'm a failure and had to end him with solo attacks. He pulsates and explodes satisfyingly into a bunch of stars. Victory achieved!

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Post-battle loot and levels. I pretty much allocated the bonus stats on a whim for this one. With whats-his-face gone, we can finally free Bow-

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RIP Counter: 4. At least the Bowser's flying body removed the green carcass blocking our path.

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We get some items and come out of a cave next to some beautiful waterfalls. I have the feeling that this next area is going to be a peaceful one...

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Nope guess not

That marks the end of chapter 2. Chapter 3 will be coming up eventually. For right now, let's take a look at the post-chapter stat review compared to bases.

Post-Chapter Stat Review (Compared to Base Stats)

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Mario Luigi

HP +7 +6

BP +4 +5

POW +11 +9

DEF +7 +8

SPEED +10 +8

STACHE +4 +3

For the time being, Mario is clearly the superior brother. Luigi's gains aren't terrible, but they are not enough to put him at par with the superstar. Although both Bros. have areas they can improve on. Luigi's speed stands out as needing the most work right now.

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huh

weird

i was just playing this today

I would like to think that I can take partial responsibility for that but I really can't can I?

Chapter 3: Aroused Goat Statues Part 1

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I think you have the wrong men officer. The Bros. are simple plumbers/evil stompers/tennis players/party attendees/typing tutors/etc.

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Guy whose name I forgot backs up the Bros for whatever reason. Why do the guards trust such a shady character? Wouldn't their association with him make them even more suspicious?

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A kidnapping huh? Well if I had to guess the culprit, the first person I would pick is..

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AHA! It was Toad! I knew it!!!!!!!

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Hoohoo Village photo dump. This is one of the areas I really like the motif of, mostly because of the ancient civilization that the Hoohooians (?) are descended from and the fact that mountain villages are cool in general. I also like how the Hoohooers are a different race of bean from the other beanbans. You know, because beans have races now.

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Some more euphamish town Hoohoo Village. That turtle can't be knocked over by anything....yet. Mario can drink the water spewing from the fountains and store it to walk around with. Luigi, on the other hand, isn't used to swallowing large amounts of liquids and spits it all out.

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High jumping on Mario forces him to spit all the water out. Spitting it out onto this fan gets you stuff. I'm not sure what kinds of stuff you can get from here because I never really took the time to find out. This water spitting mechanic is useful for the whole game!

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Well mountain villages are fun and all but I think it is time we got back to civilization oh balls it's Fawful

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To everyone's surprise, it was actually not Toad who captured Prince Peasley, it was Fawful! After some more strangely worded sentences, he seems to be gearing up for a fight with us. Come and have a go then!

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Oh. He did not want to fight, he just wanted to block our path. Despite it looking like the Bros. can easily clear the height of the statue, it is actually impassible. Time to backtrack to see if we can figure something else out.

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The bridge is out and there is only one house I have not visited yet. I hope they have dynamite or maybe platform shoes we can borrow.

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The last house just happens to be the residence of two brothers with incredibly chiseled faces who make hammers for a living. That sure is convenient.

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The Hammer Bros., Sledge and Mallet, tell of hammers made from Hoohoo blocks that can apparently break anything. Please remember that for in the future when the hammers are not able to break everything. They agree to make some hammers for the Bros. if they use their specific set of skills to get a block for them. It doesn't seem like anything else will advance the plot, so off to adventure!

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I make good on my promise of adventure. Get used to these grinning assholes because we will be seeing them quite a lot. They have 2 attacks. In one attack they just walk up to a bro, stand there for a second, and charge him. In the other, they walk to the bro but stop a farther distance away, trip over nothing, and then charge. I swear I am not bad at dodging them it is the emulator promise

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The other enemy type we face are dry bones. They spin their heads (vertically for Luigi, horizontally for Mario) and then launch them to attack.

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More platforming and tornadoes that launch you farther when you spin jump into them.

Why hello Mr. Goat head.

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Why, hello Mr. Goat head~

Spitting water onto these flaming man statue thingies causes the goat statues to get really really excited and spit out tornadoes for your spinning pleasure.

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Some offscreen battles result in level ups for the Bros. I got hit with Mario so many time because I am bad of emulation lag so I pump some extra defense into him. Despite saying last time that Luigi desperately needs speed, I decided to give him some power instead because he was still going faster than the enemies at this point.

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After some more journeying we meet up with this lovely statue.

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I am always up for a challenge but only in video games not real life so I steel my thumbs and prepare my mind for whatever impossible challenge an ancient weapon build by sentient beans can throw at me.

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As expected it isn't much of a challenge at all. You just spin jump around the platform and collect 10 of the glowing orbs that look kind of like the chozo orbs Samus has to shoot in Metroid: Zero Mission.

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The thingy in the top left.

Well if that is all you got Hoohooros I gotta say, you aren't much of a-

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Oh god send help

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The Hoohooros begins! The gimmick of this boss is the pillars. Occasionally he will sink into the ground and slide under a pillar. If you break the pillar he is under, he will slide under the other pillar and create a new one to replace the one you broke.

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The strategy to lure him out in the open is to break the pillar he is not hiding under first, and then break the other one.

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When he is exposed, he will fire a sweeping laser beam that targets both Bros. in sequence. If there is a pillar remaining, it will fire at the Bro in from of it.

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Boss killing montage with bonus me using a Bros Attack on a pillar because I forgot to cycle targets correctly. Full disclosure here - I messed up the boss fight the first time so these screenshots actually come from two separate attempts to kill him because I didn't want to get rid of any.

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Boss death and EXP screen. No level up though. Thanks jerk.

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Oh no! Now the true test begins! Could the climb to the summit be even harder than this boss fight???? Find out on the next exciting episode of Mario and Luigi Z: "The easy climb!"

Edited by HolyMBison
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I remember getting super-stuck in Hoohoo village because I didn't know how to go in houses, and I used the fan thing for a while out of desperation. I'm fairly certain all you can get is mushrooms and coins.

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I remember getting super-stuck in Hoohoo village because I didn't know how to go in houses, and I used the fan thing for a while out of desperation. I'm fairly certain all you can get is mushrooms and coins.

I know that feeling. I remember getting stuck in Hoohoo when I first played as well. The bridge doesn't get repairing until you talk to the Hammer Bros., leave their house, and then leave the area and return. I didn't know that so I left the area and wandered around aimlessly, unable to progress

Chapter 3: Aroused Goat Statues Part 2

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After the disappointing boss fight with Hoohooros, we meet a brand new enemy. I am pretty sure these dragon things are taken from Super Mario World. Their gimmick is that jumping on them makes them shrink in size. If you are not able to shrink them at least once before they attack, their attack will be undodgeable, As such, you have to remember to prioritize the tallest ones so that you do not embarrass yourself like I do.

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Level ups, finally! Luigi is Just about caught up with Mario in terms of power thanks to this bonus. Mario gets some BP because that is what felt right in the moment.

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After turning on a few more goats and having Mario consume his weight in water, the summit is in sight! Screenshot 4 showcases a mechanic I forgot to talk about until now. If an enemy in the overworld touches the bro at the back when the battle starts, that bro will be helpless until it is their turn to move. That mean that unless the bro can recover before the enemy turn, the enemies essentially get a free hit on them.

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The summit! The view from the telescope is really nice. You can see the whole kingdom! Look, there's the castle, and over there is the island, and if you look to the right you will see..

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...it stares directly into your soul. With and steady and unbending faze, it judges you.... and finds you wanting.

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Anyway after I finish being dramatic the Bros. come across an item that is clearly able to be interacted with lying next to a sleeping dragon that is probably another boss.

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Mario gives the stone his best soccer kick and to nobody's surprise it turns out to be the Hoohoo block.

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What is surprising is that the dragon is not the boss. In reality, he is Blablanadon, the kind dragon that lives in Hoohoo village. His story is that he saw Prince Peasley come up here and decided to scope things out, only to find this "egg" at the top. Although that is clearly a meteorite or a big rock we decide to humor the dragon and assume it is an egg. In his infinite wisdom, he decides to park his ass down on the meteorite egg which may or may not be white hot and irradiated.

Either way, this seems like the time for another boss to be dropped on us, but I don't see one any-

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Oh. I guess it was an egg.

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The bad dragon causes the Hoohoo block to fall over the waterfall and into someone's chimney. Maybe this is why so many houses have holes in them? The dragon shoots another Hoohoo block at Blablanadon, giving him the Team Rocket treatment. Boss fight go!

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Like the standard dragon enemies we faced earlier, this guy can shrink as well. I think it might affect the timing of his attacks but I am not sure since he stays shrunk for the duration of the fight.

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Boss attacks. He shoots fireballs at the bros. His tell is that he will raise his head up vertically if attacking Mario (I think) and will not move his head if attacking Luigi. He also can shoot out a big stone thing for him to stand on. The stone changes the timing of his attacks but can be broken.

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After a short battle the boss gets wrecked. Fun fact: I thought this boss was really tough when I was a kid. We get a much appreciated super mushroom that I will not be using until maybe the end of the game. Maybe.

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This time, only Mario gets a level. I put my bonus into his stache because I have not been grooming it quite enough.

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After the fight, the dragon morphs into....some guy?

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Oh god my eyes! His radiance is bright enough to render the entire screen white and make the picture look odd in this post.

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Oh crap, it's Prince Peasley. We managed to rescue him by jumping on his face a bunch when he was a dragon. He explains his predicament and I capture a much better shine from him. I love this character.

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He tells us that Peach is actually fine but in his typical cryptic smug manner refuses to explain why. We are given orders to visit Queen Bean in the castle and a rose to secure our entrance. And yes, I am going to screenshot every shine. We head back down the mountain and into the house the Hoohoo Block fell into. It just so happens that...

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It fell into the house of the Hammer Bros! Now they can make us the """ultimate""" hammer. When I first played the game, I thought the Hoohoo Block got lost. I went the entire way up to the top of the mountain again (the game starts you back in Hoohoo Village) to get another block from the summit. Not only was the journey pointless, but it could have been skipped because talking to Blablanadon gets you back up to the summit without having to climb again!

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Making that hammer was so nice, they did it twice! Now each bro gets a hammer! I graciously accept this present.

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How swinging the hammer looks for the bro in the front. Notice how the A button has changed to hammer (selected by using R).

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What happens when Luigi uses the hammer while in the back. He squashes Mario and Mario springs back up immediately and gets pissed. Can't say I blame him.

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Nothing happens when Mario tries to use the hammer while in the back, as you can see by the X over the B button. Is this some sort of foreshadowing? Spoilers: maybe.

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Mountain descent adventure! The Bros. finally get that pesky man statue out of their way. They make their way down the mountain to get to Beanbean Castle. Notice the boulders that are even smaller than the man statue and that the Bros. should definitely be able to jump over, but totally can't. The only flaming rock in the game is present here.

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The direct path down the side of the mountain is impassible (figures) so the Bros. take a detour into a cave with some minecarts in it. The old prospector man explains that they can take a ride in the carts to get to the bottom of the mountain. Being the adventurous sort (and with no alternative) I agree to have them go for a ride.

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The minecart minigame begins. The objective is to get to the end of the platform while collecting enough green and red gems to pass. You can guess who collects which colour of gem. Luigi's section of the track is pitch black and Mario must move around the flashlight so that it effectively covers Luigi. The flashlight is replenished by collecting batteries. After getting all 15 gems we make it out of the minigame and to the bottom of the mountain. Beanbean Castle, here we come!

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...almost. As usual, a pair of Bros. forgets something important. I will let it slide because you made us two hammers.

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As you can see, each bro now has a hammer attack option under solo attack. When you hammer an enemy, the bro you select will walk up to them and charge up the hammer behind them. When you press the button at the right time (screenshot 2) you whack the enemy in a way that looks like it hurts a whole lot. Some enemies will take more damage from hammers, and some can only take damage from hammers, so it is important to choose the right attack for the job.

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Hammers can be used to defend as well. Unlike in attacking, where you have to choose, the appropriate defense is always chosen for you and you just have to act on it. Using hammers to defend is a lot tricker than jumping. You have to hold down the button for a full second to get the hammer ready to swing, and then release when the time is right. If you hold the button for too short the defense does not trigger, and if you hold it for too long you lose your balance and are left at a disadvantage. As such, it is very important to time your hammer defenses well.

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Mallet gives Sledge the CDi Zelda treatment and the two head off to bash their heads into more rocks I guess. Next time on Mario and Luigi....

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A new area! The dawn of a new chapter begins!

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Every shine must be captured.

If you forget to you will be penalized for it.

No need to fret, I will make sure to reuse the same capture every time screenshot every shine!

Chapter 4: Obligatory Sewer Level Part 1

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The Bros. finally reach the main area of Beanbean Kingdom. I hope you enjoy the scenery because we will be seeing it quite a lot. New enemies and a new mechanic is introduced. When you hit an enemy with the hammer of the overworld, they become stunned and unable to move for a turn. It is not as useful as the overworld stomp that does damage, however, and is best used against spiky enemies that cannot take jumping damage. These spiky fellows can only take damage from hammers.

Also notice that despite getting new equipment, the Bros. do not have any new Bros. moves to go along with it....yet.

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Fights ensue. The worms have 2 attacks, both of which involve burrowing underground. In one attack they resurface in from of a bro and must be hammered, and in the other they resurface under a bro and must be jumped onto.

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Big L gets a level. His power is now on par with Mario's so I put my bonus into speed. In the parts coming up, he actually will start to be slower than the enemies, so the bonus is necessary.

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Some more of Beanbean. Pay attention to the creepy faces on everything and the grey rock in screenshot 3 that totally cannot be broken by the "ultimate" hammers. After some more battling to gain experience, the castle town is on the next screen. I am expecting a red carpet to be rolled out for the Bros. for saving Prince Peasley, and everyone cheering and lotsa spaghet-

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Hmm. Not quite the reception I was expecting. The town is littered with ruined buildings, injured citizens, and poorly kept sidewalks. There is only one explanation for all of this: Beanbean Castle Town is a meth town!

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After interrogating the locals, we find out the town is not caught within the oppressive grasp of methamphetamine. In reality, it was attacked by Cackletta and her goon squad while we were busy kicking Prince peasley's ass. We get our first mention of some sort of "Beanstar" that should not be allowed to fall into Cackletta's hands. Most importantly however, he get a shot of the shop interface. It looks nice but it has some problems I will talk about when the time comes.

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Another obstacle the hammer cannot break. If I did not get them basically for free I would be suing the Hammer Bros. for a misleading value proposition.

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Ah, my favourite castle guards. And they actually know who Luigi is! Who would have thought that two people who technically aren't Bros. would..

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It was too good to be true.

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It is understandable that the guard is skeptical about Mario's identity. After all, any Italian guy could put on a red t shirt and pretend to be Mario. Of course, after seeing Mario's unmistakable jump, he quickly comes to his

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Nope he isn't the brightest candle on the Christmas tree.

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Did I mention I love these guys? Some of my favourite interactions in the game come from them.

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The guards finally come to their senses and let the Bros. into the castle to fix whatever troubles are no doubt brewing.

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The creepy interior of the castle. The passed out bean thing on the floor does not bode well.

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Finally, someone who knows who the Bros. are. You uh, aren't going to say anything about the possible corpse over there?

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Lady Lima gets upset because the Bros. are too noisy and drops them into a trapdoor. What a fantastic reward for saving the prince.

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In order to prove they are who they say they are (because the rose isn't enough I guess) the Bros. are contracted to fix the plumbing. If they succeed, they will be allowed to see the queen. Lady Lima will be hearing from some disgruntled union representatives once all of this is over.

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The way to fix the plumbing in this rinky dink castle is to smash some stoppers into the leaks using our hammers. We also meet some new enemies. The flies are really fast and will easily outspeed both Bros. The spiny creatures are much tougher than the ones we saw in the overworld of the kingdom earlier.

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Level ups get. Both Bros. get speed in preparation for enemies in later chapters.

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Using a spin jump on the crank things will turn them to cause some of the stoppers to pop up. By hammering the newly popped stoppers, you somehow contribute to fixing the pipes, even though the stoppers were in place to begin with. After just a few more fights...

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The Bros. get even more levels! Both of them get BP because I realized there is a threat in the near future that will require them.

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Excuse me? You were the ones who sent us down here in the first place! What is going on here?

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So it was not you, but an impostor? Oh god does that mean..

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Oh balls.

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We fell for the exact same trap that peach did at the beginning of the game. How could we be fooled so easily?

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The Bros. are in a rush and spin jump up the stairs because it is faster, only to find...

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Cackletta and her motorized rocking chair! Apparently, Princess Peach's voice is the key to unlocking the power of the Beanstar. No wonder Cackletta stole it earlier. At least she has a motive to steal her voice, unlike a certain other villain the Bros. know...

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I guess but there are more pressing matters to attend to right now than an audience with the Queen...

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OH GOD SHE'S SO SWOLE

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Chapter 4: Obligatory Sewer Level Part 2

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The boss fight with Queen Bean begins! As you can see she is so jacked her arms cannot move down properly. The gimmick for this fight is that before you can attack her, you must jump on her arms to get them un-swole. After that her crown falls off and you can attack her.

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Once her crown falls off all she can do is spit hot fire giant beans at you. If you jump onto a bean instead of over it, it becomes an enemy.

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Some attacks and then Luigi gets an Advance Bros. move! When you perform a Bros. Attack a certain amount of times, Mario will think up an advanced version of that move. Advanced moves can have different effects: some do more damage, some hit more people, some hit less people, and some hit consecutively.

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Bounce Bros. Advance uses different inputs as you can see. It targets two enemies automatically if they are present. Luigi hits Queen Bean and Mario hits the bean thing. This attack isn't very powerful so I don't think I'll be using it on bosses.

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A few more attacks finishes off Queen Beefy for good, and we get some sick loot. I actually remembered to get the experience this time!

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Mario and The Looge both level up. I sorta just put the bonuses in anywhere.

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Take notes kids, eating worms makes you super strong.

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The Bros. do their thing and agree to help out the queen. Luigi doesn't look too excited about it.

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There is no way to do this thing except for one convoluted method that only the Mario Bros. are able to pull off.

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So yeah, we get sent off to find some cola made in a forest. That will certainly cure the queen? Luigi, eyes wide with the prospect of beefy arms, caresses the rough muscles of the queen in awe.

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Our first badge! Badges are equipable items that buff the Bros. Badges affect the Bros. BP and power.

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The badge equip screen. It looks a lot like the item screen except it also has info on the efects that is currently being blocked by an unnamed castle helper. As usual, Luggy gets left out.

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It doesn't matter though because I go shopping for both Bros. and buy them new pants and Luigi a new badge. The effects are listed above. Notice how pants affect HP and defense.

Finally, after many a productive purchase, the Bros. are ready to rush off into adventure! Their destination is...

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Oh god anywhere but the face forest

Because this update is so short and a lot has happened since the last review, I have decided it is time for another post chapter stat review!

Post-Chapter Stat Review (Compared to Chapter 2 End Stats)

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Mario Luigi Comparison*

HP +12 +14 -2

BP +14 +11 +3

POW +21 +27 -6

DEF +18 +22 -4

SPEED +14 +12 +2

STACHE +8 +5 +3

* How much Mario grew in that stat compared to Luigi

Perhaps a stat review every two chapters is not the best idea because of the massive gains in the stats that make it slightly hard to keep track of overall progress. For probably the first time ever, Luigi is a bit more powerful than Mario is at this point in the game. Mario could stand to gain a bit more defense, and Luigi still needs speed. Both Bros. need more HP and BP. In terms of growth, Luigi beats Mario on many accounts. The most important difference lies in the most important stat (power) where Luigi grew 6 whole points more than Mario did. Overall, I would say that Luigi is the better brother overall at this point by a slight margin.

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Damn, can't believe I didn't see this until now. This game is one of my childhood favourites.

I've been seeing this a lot in this thread, but it is like the exact opposite in real life. Not many people I know who play video games even knows this game exists.

This chapter is so long it will need to be split up into three parts, which I think is a good way to compensate for having such a short update last time.

Chapter 5: Laughing Fruit of Infinite Pain and Suffering Part 1

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This update begins with meeting the first of many modified enemy types. Unlike recoloured enemies that are essentially just buffed, the modified enemies actually have additional features to look out for. In the case of the flying bean things, it is the wings. Not only do the wings change the attacks, they also act as an additional health bar. Once the health bar is depleted, they turn back into normal bean things. Even if you can defeat the normal bean things in one hit, the wings somehow make them much stronger and able to take more damage when in that mode.

The Bros. gain entrance to Chateau Chucklehuck.

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The Chateau entrance contains some tour style info and is nicely carpeted, but leads into a barrel maze that must be traversed in order to proceed.

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This thing always gave me such a hard time as a kid. If you look closely you can see the Bros. through the gaps between the barrels.

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Huh. Something about Luigi seems off in this picture... (he is right near the center of the screen of you can't see him)

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OH MY GOD Luigi has turned to a life of crime and dyed his skin green!

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Actually it was just some other dude who scampers off after being seen. Luigi rejoins a few seconds later. The Bros. confront their unknown assailant...

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The fast talkin' rogue spouting 40's slang is known as Popple, who is apparently a famous thief.

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Ha. This chump apparently needs a rookie to help him fight his battles. Let's see what kind of pathetic weakling would follow this-

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Oh my God it's Bowser.

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Apparently Bowser has amnesia and can't remember anything except that he hates the Bros. Just think about that for a second. His hatred of Mario is so strong that it has defeated amnesia. Anyways, he is Popple's lackey now and also a boss fight!

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In this fight, both Popple and Bowser are your enemies. If you attack Popple (other than on a defense) Bowser gets upset and automatically attacks you, making the fight much slower and a bit more challenging. Since Popple is a coward and runs away when Bowser is defeated, it's best to just attack Bowser.

Popple can run up to the Bros. and steal either an item (which he will use on himself or Bowser) or a hammer, which will prevent you from attacking and defending with it. Bowser throws hammers at you...

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...until partway through the fight where he learns he can shoot fireballs as well.

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Anyways this boss fight is a cakewalk and we easily defeat Bowser. Popple gets mad and the two of them piss off.

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After the fight, the Bros. break a barrel and rescue Cork and Cask, the....Wine Bros.? Barrel Bros.? French Bros.? Who knows.

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We show them the Mario stuff but they say these moves alone will not be enough to get through the forest. Whatever will we do now?

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Well that's convenient!

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Luigi's hammer technique squishes Mario to half his size to be able to move around in small places. Hitting him with the hammer again returns him to normal size.

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Mario's hammer technique is more powerful and sends Luigi underground, where he is able to move around freely for some reason. This is the reason why Mario was unable to use his hammer inside the Hammer Bros. house back in chapter 2. It is because Luigi would have fallen down the waterfall if he had done so. Jumping with Luigi gets him back above ground. The Bros. are sent to collect to chalice thingies to test their skills.

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You may have seen these circular indents on the ground along the way. Burrowing under them with Luigi and then going above ground gives us the bean buried under there.

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We do the stuff and get the goblets. Jean and Pierre are very excited about this.

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We get into the woods proper and meet more modified enemies. These spike balls are, again, just normal bean thingies with an additional health bar in the form of spikes. Jumping on them hurts you so the only way to get rid of the armor is using hammers. But wait, didn't we learn another Bros. technique? Doesn't that mean we get BRAND NEW BROS. ATTACKS??!!

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We totally do. Mario gets Chopper Bros. Mario dunks Luigi into the ground and jumps over him. Luigi pops out of the ground and propels Mario higher into the air. Mario spins his hammer around like a helicopter as he falls to damage an enemy multiple times. This is one of the strongest attacks in the game and Mario's boss killer bread and butter until much later into the game.

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Luigi gets Knockback Bros. He shrinks Mario and then golf swings him into an enemy while Mario contorts himself into a ball.

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Both Bros. level up (with Luigi leveling up first this time!). Mario gets some extra power because the spiky enemies are really tough, while Luigi gets some speed because he is starting to be slower than the enemies are.

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We reveal one of the enemies as a golden bean thing. These guys are much faster than the standard bean things and will run away like 90% of the time if you reveal them from their spiky shields. However, if you manage to kill one before it can run away, it will drop the spike badge. It isn't as good as either of the badges the Bros. are wearing in terms of power or BP increase, but it allows you to jump on spiky creatures for tons of damage. I equip it because these spike guys are a real pain and the badge makes defeating them much faster.

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So yeah, Mario can straight up jump on spiked enemies now with no danger to him. We meet another indestructible turtle along the way and solve some size puzzles.

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Perhaps standing directly in the way of a fireball wasn't the best idea.

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Thankfully Luigi can jump inside this barrel (from underground) and use it to deflect the fireball back to the source. Take note kids: if you see fire rushing towards you, deflect it with a creaky old wooden thing.

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I've been seeing this a lot in this thread, but it is like the exact opposite in real life. Not many people I know who play video games even knows this game exists.

I can say the same, it's one of those hidden gems I suppose. It's also the main reason I own Partners In Time, Bowser's Inside Story and Dream Team as well. More people need to play this game.

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I have been busy with school lately and I have a brief respite right now to update the playthrough. I don't think I'll be able to update it again until later next week. So make sure you enjoy this update!

Chapter 5: Laughing Fruit of Infinite Pain and Suffering Part 2

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Immediately we face a few new enemies. The tree things shoot out the living embodiment of poison to attack the Bros. If you get hit by it there is a high (but not certain) change of being poisoned. The shy guys have two attacks. One of which is charging a Bro and the other is doing a swipe attack that can trip them. The timing is different so you have to react quickly to not get hit. They can also call other shy guys as reinforcements which is really annoying to deal with. We meet and kill another golden bean and give Luigi a spike badge. I don't think I've ever had these badges so early in the game before.

We also catch a glimpse of a mysterious growth in the last screenshot. Whatever could that be?

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Level ups. Mario gets HP to make him a bit more well rounded while Luigi gets power because he has fallen behind.

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When Luigi becomes a barrel, Mario can stand on top of him to hit switches that are too high up to get to normally.

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And now I am become Death We come across a vampire tree that blocks the path to the place that is most likely the boss room and the Chuckola Reserve.

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Of course nothing is easy so we are tasked with finding the three mystical colourful laughing fruit of despair. If we do so, the tree will let us pass.

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We start with the red chucklefruit and meet this young lass. She gives us the tutorial on finding beans in the ground that I already knew from last time. We collect some beans for her and she lets us proceed.

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Up ahead we meet a wiggler (which I lost a bunch of captures for I guess because I screwed up and had to redo stuff) sticking his big butt out of this hole. After we stomp on her he retreats into the hole and presumably disappears.

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Oh hey, there's the red chuckola fruit in the top right there! There is no sign of the wiggler so I guess he evaporated.

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I send in mini Mario but he runs away. I feel for you buddy, that fruit up there is-

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Oh god he is rage incarnate. Hell hath no fury like a big bug thing that has a flower on it's head.

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The gimmick for this boss fight is pretty cool. The wiggler is invincible while it is completely red. The only way to render it killable is to jump on each of the four sections to turn it back to yellow. When he charges at you, you can jump on them as well but it is much harder to land on the specific one you were targeting at that point. Jumping on his face turns him red if he is yellow, or resets your progress if he is not yet fully yellow. We calm him down and...

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Destroy him in just one hit. Wow. Another boss that gave me so much trouble as a kid gets wrecked so easily.

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Red fruit get!

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Also even more levels get. I grab some BP in both Bros. because why not.

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We do some bicycle stuff in a cave and grab the purple chuckola fruit. This one was a lot easier to come by. Fun fact: the stalk we saw a bit earlier belonged to this fruit!

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And finally, after some hammer puzzles and a timed race to grab the it, the Bros acquire the last fruit. We head back to the tree to get him to back that ass up.

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He shifts the aforementioned ass over as promised because he is moved to tears because of our hard work. All that is left is to grab the Chuckola Reserve and we can...

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Oh for god's sake. These hoodlums pop out of the foliage and dash off ahead of us to snatch our prize away from us. Popple has such a big shit eating grin in screenshot 2.

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We dash into the inner sanctum and find... some old guy in rags telling horrible jokes. The Pepto Bismol in the barrel bubbles and churns with every joke, as if it is in pain. What happened to those ne'er-do-wells?

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I gotta say Bubbles, you look different than the images I've seen of you would suggest. Just how old are you??

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Uh, yeah, sure you are. Can we have some soda or?

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Oh good, I'll just pour the soda into my pockets then and be off.

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Oh so you weren't done talking then. 1000 years is a long time to brew one barrel of soda. This thing better be the tastiest drink I've ever had.

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Oh god what? How did the soda do that??? Did you trip over it or something?

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Jesus take the wheel.

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Apparently 1000 years of bad jokes has turned the soda angry and sentient. Honestly though, I can't blame it. Either way I smell a boss fight coming up!

....next time.

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