It took me a while to realize where Goombario’s name came from as well. But I fail to see how naming your child after Wario would be a good idea.
Maybe Goom-titles are just chosen to be expressed in Mushroom Kingdom common, and goombas have name names in goombese?
Now that’s an intriguing idea! Always interesting to discuss the intricacies of Goomba culture.
I have to say, I’ve always been a big fan of how pissy Goompapa looks when his gate gets smashed.
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“Wow Mario, my son, he idolizes you…
oh…how did I get this mustache? OH NOWHERE TOTALLY NOT FROM YOU RIGHT HAHA GULP”
[details=Click Here to open the update!]
March Ahead
Lest you forget this is Paper Mario, well.
Thankfully, Goompa seems to be alright.
I remember a great crashing noise and then the veranda collapsed and I fell. Did you fall, too? Just stepped out the door into thin air, did you? Well, we’re both OK. Problem is, we can’t get home because that block is in the way.
…Huh? A Hammer? Oh, of course! Um… Where did it go? I was using it to fix the veranda, so it’s likely around here somewhere…
Mario, we’d better look for it.
Nothing we can currently do in this screen, so let’s go west.
Look for bushes that might cover it up.
There’s a lot of opportunities in this game to interact with the environment. Think of this as a simple tutorial. There’s a lot of great stuff to be had just from exploring and trying stuff out!
The west-most bush holds the hammer.
Oh!! There we go! That’s it! That’s the Hammer! I’ll wager that if you use that Hammer, you can break the block that’s in our way.
A to Jump, B to Hammer. These will also be your two main moves in battle.
The Hammer is useful of course for hitting blocks such as this coin block. It works just like the coin blocks in the platformers, hit it as much as you can before it expires.
As Goompa said, you can hit trees with the hammer. Most have coins…
…but this has something different.
Oh! Well now! I believe that’s the dolly that Goombaria said she lost! She’ll no doubt be overjoyed if you give it back to her.
Yes, there are side quests in this game. A few are quite worth your while indeed. Probably, it’s been awhile since I’ve played but there’s plenty of good stuff to be had.
Nobody sets foot in here without my permission! Nobody!
This is Jr. Troopa. He’s kind of a jerk.
So let’s beat some sense into him!
This is kinda a tutorial battle, though it’s also incredibly straightforward.
He’s more bark than bite. You can beat him easily. Just boost yourself up and don’t take any lip!
Gee, thanks.
Right now, Mario has four options in battle, though that’ll grow during the game. Jump and Hammer are Mario’s basic attacks. There’s items, where we can use whatever items Mario finds and buys during the game.
The last is Strategies, which right now only has Run Away (which we can’t do for this fight) and Do Nothing (which you rarely want to do but may be your best option depending on the foe).
I start off with a Jump attack.
Mario is pleased.
Jr. Troopa only has one basic attack, though later on some enemies will have multiple moves.
Here’s the animation for the Hammer. Right now, Jumping and Hammering do the same damage.
So it’s just back and forth a few times. No real strategy, but this entire section is about easing you into the battle system. Once it gets developed, there’s actually a surprising amount of depth. But that’ll be awhile.
When down to his last hit point, Jr. Troopa powers up.
Now he does a whopping two damage. But again, he’s one hit away from defeat.
Like so.
You get Star Points every time you beat an enemy. Every time you save up 100 Star Points, you’ll go up a level. Always try hard to get points!
Star Points are this game’s EXP. The system for them is actually pretty clever, you always need 100 Star Points to get a level. As you gain levels though, enemies in your area give less and less Star Points, thus it discourages grinding since at some point it’s not worth the effort.
I’ll get to levels in a future update, possibly the next one.
With that, Mario has defeated his first of many enemies! And yeah, that won’t be the last we see of Jr. Troopa.
Back to where we fell, hitting this tree gives us our first item.
There’s also a little tutorial about items, but items are pretty simple. There’s a lot of different items, including healing, attack, and status effects. However, Mario has limited inventory space so make sure you actually use your items!
There’s also a quick menu option by pressing the C-Left button to quickly access your items.
Speaking of the menu, let’s check it out!
Stats are, well, stats. I’ll go into Flower Points and Badge Points later. I’ll go into Star Pieces much later.
Items is pretty simple, though you can also check Key Items like the Dolly we found.
More on Spirits later.
Goombario’s family lives here, and there’s a Toad House, too.
Finally, a world map with little bios of each place.
OK let’s move on.
Free healing is always nice.
There’s this spring that propels us to a new item. Attack Power simply means it does 3 damage before defenses are taken into account. Right now, we’re not going to face anything with defense (which is good because otherwise Mario would do 0 damage). This thing is real great for groups of enemies and things vulnerable to fire.
On to the next area…
If they see you, they’ll attack you without hesitation. If you can successfully attack an enemy in the field with a Jump or Hammer, you’ll get the First Strike when you enter the battle. Striking first really helps when it comes to battling.
Enemies show up on the field. No random encounters here!
Most enemies will chase Mario when they spot him.
Attack the enemy with a Jump or Hammer action to get a First Strike, netting you a free attack before battle. Very useful, especially early on!
First off, this is the regular battle theme. Worth a listen, I’m a big fan of it myself. Seems perfect for this game, really.
Goombas only have two HP, and since Mario always goes first in turn order, this means Mario can defeat this Goomba before it can even act. Nice!
Only worth two star points, though.
There’s another Goomba up ahead…
…but I get the drop on it.
uhhhhhh
Be careful not to jump on him. You’ll definitely get hurt.
This is where having two attack types matters. Spiked Goombas cannot be harmed by Jumps (and Mario will take damage attempting to!), so Mario must stick to Hammer attacks.
Most Goombas only do one damage when headbonking, but that spike is extra potent. Don’t mess around with these guys!
Worth a bit more, though.
Enemies will usually drop things after battle. Coins let you buy things, of course. The hearts recover 1HP a piece, handy. And finally, a free Mushroom item. Not a bad haul!
Last new enemy for today, the Paragoomba.
To attack airborne enemies, use a Jump attack. You can jump over one enemy to attack one behind it, too. This is good advice. Remember it!
Much like Jump can’t hurt spiked enemies, Hammer can’t hit airborne enemies. Also, as Goompa said, Jump lets you reach any enemy while Hammer only lets you hit the front-most enemy.
Hammer isn’t even available here!
Jumping on a Paragoomba removes its wings, rendering it an ordinary Goomba.
And Paragoombas attack by kicking.
Otherwise, only need two hits and they give three star points a piece.
If we take the upper path to the left, we obtain our first Star Piece! More on these later.
Heading right takes us right back to Goomba Village. Not too shabby for a tutorial.
I looked outside and…wow! Both you and the veranda were just plain gone!
Goompa, I was very, very worried about you! Really worried!
Sorry, kids, I apologize. I didn’t mean to make you fret. You just take it easy, now. I’m back safe and sound.
Before I forget, I’ve decided to give you something, Mario. Wait here a minute.
I can’t be mean to a Goomba child. Sure.
I’m so happy… My sweet dolly! Don’t you ever get lost again!
Another Star Piece!
…Alright, then.
I study self-defense by reading books by the masters and listening to Dad and Goompa. And, I also exercise every day so I can be strong like you! It’s starting to show, too! I’m getting big muscles!
Yeah, Goombario’s head is hard as a rock now! Tee hee!
Oh, be quiet, Goombaria! You’re embarrassing me! Of course, it IS true…
It’s OK, Goompa! We’re just rapping with Mario…
…So that’s the term you’re going with, huh.
This is called a Badge. If you wear this, you’ll be able to do a Power Jump, which means you’ll be able to do a lot more damage with your Jump attack.
You’d better try it first. Putting Badges on and taking them off is a vital skill.
No.
No.
Badges are where the battle system gets a lot of its meat. There are a large variety of badges that do many things. The one we got simply does more damage, but there’s a large variety of moves available. There’s a badge that lets you hit any enemy with a hammer, or lets you jump on spiked enemies, or lets you hit multiple enemies, and so on. Some badges have passive effects, like those that boost HP or attack power. There are even some goofy ones that change the sound effects for things like Mario’s jump.
However, each badge uses up a certain number of Badge Points (some go up to 7 or so), and as we saw earlier Mario only has three right now. Thus you can only use so many badges and have to decide which badges to use, which can vary depending on where you’re adventuring. You can gain Badge Points only by leveling up.
And many techniques from your badges require Flower Points to use. Mario start with 5FP and can gain more through leveling or by equipping an FP Up Badge.
Goompa then takes three text boxes to explain that the boxes we saw that restore HP also restore FP. Which, yeah.
You’re taking it upon yourself to try to rescue the princess from Bowser’s clutches.
Oh yeah! Mario can beat Bowser with one hand tied behind his back!
Hush, now, Goombario. Mario, please take this Hammer. It should serve you well. If I were just a bit younger, I’d accompany you on your trip. I’d have done some damage! The years have started to weight on me, though. I tell you, this lower back pain…
Princess-rescuing is so cool! I really want to be an adventurer, too, someday!
Me too!!
Oh! Here’s an idea! Goombario… Perhaps the timing is perfect. You are no longer a child, and evil times are upon us.
What!? Really!? May I go, Goompa!? May I really go!?
Mario! You won’t regret this!
And thus Mario has his first partner!
When you’re interested, just ask him! Goombario is also helpful during battles!
I’ll go into partners and Goombario in particular next update, but Goombario is essentially a walking encyclopedia. The game undersells Goombario’s knowledge a bit, as Goombario has different flavor text for every single NPC and location in the game. Plus Tattle is a huge enough boon that chances are he’ll be your partner of choice for a majority of the time.
Mario, I know Goombario will prove to be a worthy companion.
Good-byes have a way of making this old Goomba get weepy.
And so we’re off to rescue Peach and defeat Bowser!
Maybe you ought to take a rest at the Toad House.
This update’s getting long anyway, so that sounds like a good plan.
Anytime you feel tired, a good rest will fix you right up.
Make yourself comfortable and enjoy your stay.
Your current partner disappears into Mario’s belongings…
…while Mario himself hits the hay. Good night![/details]
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Switched music hosting to LPix since Tindeck was having problems yet again. Let me know if there’s any issues!
I’ll go back and update the other two updates’ music links to LPix later.
Jr. Troopa: possibly the coolest of Koopas?
So, now that you have Goombario, a tattle log for the enemies is pretty cool, but are you also gonna do the flavor text for every location? 
My plan right now is to do 100% Tattle information for enemies, and only post flavor text for NPCs/locations that’s interesting since, holy crap that’s a lot of text.
Of course since it’s me it’ll still probably be the majority of it. I guess I’ll see how I want to tackle it in the next update and go from there.
Thanks for all your effort by the way. I love this game, but gosh does the early game drag a bit, thank god for twink
Don’t drive yourself crazy though 
Goombario’s one of my favorite helpers. He’s like a second Mario, but with a book instead of a hammer. Jr. Troopa’s also the best recurring boss. He always tries his hardest.
I really like the badge system as a way to customize Mario. I don’t remember all of the ones I used, but there are a few essential ones I used for the whole game once I found them. I’ll mention them when we see them in game.
I also never really thought about it before, but how is it that this goomba in a two building town the most informed person in all of the Mushroom Kingdom? I mean, he’s got something on every single resident in the whole place, and there isn’t even an internet connection there.
I went ahead and made use of the Details tag to hide the updates. Don’t know if it will stop images from loading (so I still wouldn’t suggest browsing this thread on mobile data) but it should make scrolling through the thread easier at least!
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Click Here to open the update!
Take care now!
There’s no reason to take a nap at full health, unless you really want to.
So, Goombario. Each partner has a special field ability. Most involve interacting with the environment to solve puzzles. Goombario is the exception, however.
Goombario gives information about our current location. This text is different for every single “screen” we’re in. Most of it is quite interesting.
For this reason, I’m going to introduce the Tattle tag. When you see this, you’ll know this is Goombario’s Tattle text. So for this screen…
This is Goomba Village. My family lives here. There’s also a Toad House, which, as you probably know, is a good place to take a rest. That big tree near my house is a great place to get Goomnuts.
So text for every location is pretty crazy, right? Well, it’s about to get crazier.
That’s right. Not only is there flavor text for every screen in the game, there’s flavor text for every single NPC. Yep!
He’s a regular Toad. He was sent here from Princess Peach’s Castle. He’s the manager of this Toad House.
If you hack her in with cheat codes, there’s limited functionality for Goombaria to be a party member in the game, though she crashes battles and has no field abilities. Guess they figured one Goomba was enough.
She’s my sister, Goombaria. She’s a spoiled girl, but still, everyone’s always nice to her. Why?
Let’s catch up with the Goomba family before we go.
Oh, my little baby! I can’t believe you’re going out into the world with Mario! Now you listen! You be a good boy, you hear! Don’t cause Mario any trouble!
I know, Mom, sheesh. I’ll be good.
Don’t brag about all the things Goompa taught you as if you already knew them!! And remember… And…
Urgh… Mom always nags me…
Now hush! Mario, please take good care of my sweet little Goombario.
She’s my mom, Goomama. She sometimes gets on my nerves when she worries too much about me, but I still love her lots. Don’t tell her what I just said! Seriously, Mario! Promise me!
I’ll make you proud, Dad, I swear it! Just wait!
Do your best, son. You’ve grown into a strong boy. I know you’ll be a great help. It’s a good thing you’ve spent so much time training, huh? Now do your old Goompapa proud!
And if we talk to Goompapa again…
He’s my dad, Goompapa. He’s willing to do anything for us. We can always count on him. He doesn’t really look lile it, though. But did you see him fixing stuff after that earthquake? That’s when I knew he was cool.
Take care, Goombario. You’re already one fine Goomba!
She’s my grandma, Gooma. I hope she lives forever! She’s the greatest! When she starts telling old stories, she always says, “When I was young, I was very popular with the boys.”
He’s my grandpa, Goompa. He knows oodles of stuff. Ever since I was a kid, he’s been telling me fantastic stories of his youth.
So in that giant mess of tattle information, you may have heard something about a Tree and Goomnuts.
Goombario’s tattles aren’t purely flavor text. There can be some useful hints as well.
According to Goombaria, this is where you landed. Something about this clearing feels weird. I can’t really say exactly what, though…
Before we go forth, let’s backtrack a bit for more tattle goodness.
These are the woods behind my house. Careful! There are many bad Goombas around here. Sorry… I’m sure that you can probably take care of yourself, huh?
This first section is where we met the three Goomba types. Let’s jump into battle and see how Goombario works, shall we?
Hey Mario, during a battle, you can change the order we attack in with (Z). I can attack first if you want. I don’t mind at all! Just keep it in mind, OK?
Each round of combat, both Mario and his partner will act before all enemies act, and back and forth like that. As Goombario said, Mario and his partner can act in either order.
Partners are more limited in combat. They do not have HP, so in the rare case that an attack hits a partner, they’re simply out for a set number of rounds until they can fight again. They can’t use Items either and have their own distinct attacks.
Headbonk is Goombario’s base attack and functions identically to Mario’s Jump, including damage from headbonking spiked enemies. Tattle is this game’s Libra spell, giving you basic stats, hints, and general flavor text for each enemy.
When Goombario tattles, we get a close up and a bunch of text.
Here’s how I’ll handle the layout for each enemy.
This is a Goomba. Goombas are what you’d call “small fries.” Actually, they’re pretty much the smallest fries. …Hey, wait! I’m one of 'em! You can jump on them or whack 'em with the Hammer. These guys are old school. They’ve been around since you were in Super Mario Bros.!
Once you Tattle an enemy, from that point forward you’ll get an HP bar every time you encounter that enemy. Thus it’s very beneficial to Tattle on every new enemy you meet, as well as bosses since Tattle also works on almost if not every boss in the game.
Let’s go check out the previous two screens before examining the next two Goombas.
These are the woods behind my house. Until a little while ago, Goombaria and I used to play hide-and-seek here… But there have been a lot of evil Goombas and Paragoombas spotted in the area, so Mom doesn’t let us play anymore.
I think this is Jr. Troopa’s secret base. That crazy kid! Whenever I try to explore in there, he freaks out. He needs to chill.
Back to enemies!
This is a Spiked Goomba. Spiked Goombas are Goombas with spikes on their heads. Whatever you do, don’t jump on their spikes or you’ll get hurt or even paralyzed!
This is a Paragoomba. Obviously, Paragoombas are Goombas with wings. You can’t hit 'em with the Hammer while they’re airborne. If you damage 'em, they’ll fall to the ground and become ordinary Goombas.
As I said, Goombario knows a freaking lot.
He’s also quite adept at headbonking.
I also forget to equip my badge, so let’s do that now.
I have a feeling your road will be lined with difficulties, so try not to overdo it. Be watchful, yet stay cool. A calm mind is the wisest.
There’re lots of bad Goombas around these parts.
The next few screens are pretty linear and don’t have any new enemies.
Though the signs are kinda rude.
Otherwise, it’s a few blocks and Goombas to stomp to move onward.
Did you know…there are good Goombas and bad Goombas? A bad Goomba will try to pick a fight with us the second it spots us.
Nintendo games really don’t muck around with questions of morality.
Red Question Blocks hold badges. This handy badge costs 1BP and lets Mario dodge attacks when in Danger, where Danger means being at 5HP or less. There’s actually a good number of badges that are effective when Mario is in Danger, making “Danger Mario” a valid if risky battle strategy.
Also, free mushroom!
Mario was a bit low from fights, so might as well enjoy the freebie!
Of course, later on in the screen is this block.
Look, Mario! There’s a Save Block. Might be a good idea to use it, don’t you think?
Hmmm, I wonder what he’s implying?
It’s a direct order from the Goomba King. That’s right! I’m sorry, but the only way by is through the Goomba Bros. That’s me, Red Goomba, and my brother, Blue Goomba.
Oh yeah! Let’s do it, my red brother!
And so the mini-boss music plays. Enjoy!
I made this GIF to point out the clouds in the top-right corner. It’s a nice little detail, I feel.
On to Tattling!
This is Blue Goomba. He’s the younger of the two notorious Goomba Bros. As you heard in his little speech, he’s one of the Goomba King’s men. He doesn’t look that healthy. He’s weaker than his brother.
This is a good battle to try out Power Jump!
It’s the same as a regular jump, except Mario gets a shadow effect and deals 3 damage instead of one. Two of these will take out Blue Goomba with ease.
The Goomba Bros. both only use headbonks. Nothing Mario can’t handle.
This is Red Goomba. He’s the older of the two notorious Goomba Bros. The Goomba King ordered him to try to stop you. You can take this guy, no prob. He has just a little more HP than an ordinary Goomba.
With Power Jump, Blue is no threat.
Red gets upset but doesn’t get a boost or anything.
Between Mario and Goombario, taking Red down’s a bit slow but still really easy.
Yet rewarding nonetheless.
I love Mario’s thumbs-up every time he wallops an enemy until they cry.
Can’t hurt to heal up before we go forward. We’re actually not too far from this section’s big boss battle!
If we go east a bit further, we’ll find a bridge. Once we cross it, we’ll be a hop, skip, and a jump away from Toad Town.
How devious.
After beating those Goombas up, Mario hits 100 Star Points and gains a level! First, Mario recovers all HP and FP while we listen to a variation of SMB3’s World 1 Overworld theme.
Each Level Up gives you the choice of boosting either HP, FP, or BP. Generally you want to focus on Badge Points because they give you the coolest options, plus there’s badges that boost HP and FP anyway (each costs 3 BP and boosts their stat by 5 so you’re effectively trading the BP level up temporarily for an HP/FP one). Still, I go with FP since it’ll be a bit before we get a good variety of badges, and more FP will let us actually use those cool flashy moves our new badges will give us.
Next up is the end of the road.
Mario beat us up!
I’m pretty sure there used to be a bridge on the other side. I wonder what happened to it.
Unfortunately, this is as far as you’ll ever get. Because I, the great and powerful King Goomba, will see to it that you advance no farther!
You hear that, Mario! No farther! Not one step! Are you scared, little man?
Bah ha ha!!! Yeah, you’re scared, all right. You wanna say you’re sorry?
I’m sure he’s no match for you, though, Mario! Let’s get him!
This is the boss battle of this “Chapter”. These usually are the biggest challenges and have their own music. This one still isn’t too bad, though.
We’ve got your back!
They must be pretty weak since we just finished beating them up back there.
Red and Blue start at a measly 2HP each. However, there’s also an additional, easy-to-miss target right next to the Goomba King.
This is a Goomnut Tree. Spiky Goomnuts will fall down if you hit this tree. They’ll definitely hurt if they hit us, but it may be worth it to use them against the enemy.
Sounds like a plan to me!
How handy!
Meanwhile, the Goomba King on the offensive.
This is the Goomba King. He’s really big. I mean, look at him! He looks really powerful. He’s the boss of Red Goomba and Blue Goomba. Who cares if he’s strong? You’re much stronger. Gee, I wonder what he ate to become so big? I’d like to be a bit bigger, too.
With Power Jump, the Goomba King is easy to wear down.
Goomba King is the first enemy to have more than one attack, this one hurtling Goomnuts down on Mario for decent damage.
It’s too little, too late though since one more round is enough to do the king in.
And what a kingly reward!
Yeah! I knew we could do it! Cooool!! Victory!!
And that’s that! Now we get full control and can do a few things. First, this area’s tattle.
I think there was a bridge between Toad Town and Goomba Village. If we head east, we’ll get to Toad Town. If we head west, we’ll come to my house in Goomba Village.
Guess we should start trying to find that bridge, huh?
Not in this tree!
If we try to enter the fort…
Of course, King Goomba! I hid it in the grass outside the fortress.
Outside the… You idiot! You didn’t hide it in here? Mario will find it for sure!
Oh! Do you think? You know…you might be right.
King Goomba, maybe we ought to try to trick Mario before he tries to…
Uhh… Might be a big late there, folks.
If you happen to find a strange switch somewhere, you should definitely not press it. It’s dangerous. Understand?
The castle proceeds to fall apart.
And with it goes the Goomba King.
At least we unlocked the bridge!
And on we go!
Until next time!
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Oddly enough, I don’t think I’ve ever tried doing any of the area flavor texts, just the character ones. They really went out of their way to give a bit of character to these grassy plains.
I don’t think I ever noticed that little trick with the Goomnut Tree during the King Goomba battle… wonder if there were other tricks like that throughout the game that I’ve missed?
Stuff like that reminded me of hitting the chain link in the first fight with Bowser on the chandelier in SMRPG
Click Here to open the update!
A report, Your Evilness: Mario defeated the Goomba King. He’s heading for Toad Town now.
I used the Star Rod to make him a king because he begged me… And Mario whips him so easily? What a wimp!!
Please, please, Your Vileness! Try to be calm. Goomba King is small-time. I had a feeling he’d fail. It doesn’t matter, because while you hold the Star Rod you are definitely invincible. You could beat Mario with one claw tied behind your back.
Please, don’t worry yourself. Each is held separately. And each is carefully guarded by your handpicked subjects. Even Mario can’t save all seven of the Star Spirits.
Hmmm…
Yeah, it would be really crazy if Mario travelled to each area holding a Star Spirit, defeated each guardian there, rescued all seven of them, and managed to use their powers to find a way to counter the effects of the Star Rod. Good thing that definitely won’t happen during the course of this game, right?
Hey, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
If Mario somehow reaches there, can the Koopa Bros. defeat him?
You may notice a slight resemblance to four other shelled creatures styled after ninjas. I’m sure this was completely unintentional.
That Goomba King was gigantic, and even he couldn’t beat Mario.
Yeah, the Goomba King was huge, but he was a total wimpola! We’re nothing like him! See, what we’ve got going on is the power of teamwork… Together, we can put the hurt on Mario in seconds flat!
Excellent! That’s the spirit! Sell it, Koopa Bros.!! Show our king that special attack you do so well!
Yes, ma’am!
That… This is… Ohhhhh!!!
Mario won’t have a chance if you finish him with that attack!
We’ll take him, King Bowser!
By the way, my Koopa Bros…
…Uh…nobody, sir… You know, we’re here and so…
Ah, the outskirts of Toad Town. To the east is Toad Town. If we go west, we’ll reach my hometown, Goomba Village.
Meanwhile, Mario is just one screen away from finally reaching Toad Town.
This question block has a new item, the Sleepy Sheep. It does what it says it does. Handy for facing a large number of enemies, especially early on when group attacks are still limited.
Near the end is a tree holding a giant spring. A simple hammer pound will knock it loose, leading you to…
…the Hammer Throw badge. This takes 2BP and lets you spend FP to attack flying and back-row enemies with the hammer. It’s not really that useful right now since you won’t be facing anything that both flies and has spikes for a long time, and by that time there will be other, more useful badges and items to counter them.
That’s it, so it’s time to finally arrive at Toad Town.
This is the west entrance to Toad Town. In case you couldn’t tell, it’s the main gate. The fancy gate and the star emblem on the ground are symbols of this fair town. Goomba Village, where my house is, is a brief journey west from here. You’ll find a very smart Toad named Russ T. living in this town. He knows lots of useful information for adventurers. You’ll also find shops that sell various items. Oh yeah! There’s also a Dojo.
Toad Town is the central hub of this game. There are other towns, of course, but you’ll be coming back here a lot to go to whichever new place you need to go to next.
There’s also a lot to this place. Goombario has only explained the stuff in this screen, there’s more to the town but for this update we’ll only be checking out the west side of town.
The town is in an uproar! The princess kidnapped! The very castle uprooted! It’s bedlam! I really don’t know what we can do about all this…
As soon as we come in, this Toad runs up to us and starts proclaiming how doomed everyone is. Alright, then.
This Toad is always standing in front of the gate. Is it his job, maybe? He looks as if he’s asleep on his feet, but he actually knows quite a bit about the town.
Again, this is where I remind you that Goombario has unique dialogue for every single NPC in the game, and there sure are a lot of them just in Toad Town.
But before we continue, we should probably check in at our place first.
I wonder what my brother Mario is doing right now…
And you’re all right! After all that castle craziness, I was really worried about you. I ran outside just as the earthquake started, so I managed to escape in time.
Oh? And who are you?
I’m Goombario. Nice to meet you!
See, someone has to look after this house, so I can’t leave. Oh well. Take care of Mario, OK?
This is Luigi’s excuse for not joining us. As the game progresses, he’ll be killing time doing various activities around here. At least he’s actually in the game this time, unlike SMRPG.
Honestly, it’s not until Superstar Saga and this game’s sequel that Luigi really shines. More on that when I hopefully cover the sequel, though.
Anyway, let’s get the Tattle for this area.
It’s your house! Cool! Nice landscaping! I like my house, but yours is even nicer. Did you do the decorating yourself?
He’s Luigi. I don’t have to say anything about him, do I? He’s your brother!
There isn’t much to do at the Mario house. You can look at some stats, though some are currently hidden as we haven’t unlocked everything yet. You can see we’ve got a lot of badges and star pieces to collect, though!
Otherwise, we can read old letters and rest. That’s it for now, let’s go back and check out Toad Town.
No castle! Horrors! Only a hole remains! Our beloved castle! Where is it? Spread the word! Outrage!
This Toad is always very excited about whatever news he has. He’s a little crazy. Even so, it’s a good idea to listen to him. He may be a little excitable, but he always has news.
Everyone in town is suffering, and yet my heart cares for nothing but you, my sweet. Does that make me wicked?
My heart is the same, my love. It cares for you, none other.
As you may expect, some of the regular text is great as well.
This Toad claims that he and his girl are in love. But just the other day, he told me he liked a different girl! What a cad!
Those Toads are in love. They’re so in love, they don’t even notice what’s going on. Unless you like seeing public displays of affection, I wouldn’t talk to them. They’re shameless.
When you can’t carry any more items, it’s a good idea to go to a shop like this and ask them to hold items for you. You can even claim the items at any other shop. Pretty convenient, huh?
This Toad always stands in front of the shop. He knows all about items. He never moves, as far as I can tell. Maybe he’s trying to get a tan.
You have a hard inventory limit, but you can store your items at shops and withdraw them later. Or more likely, store them and then leave them there for the rest of the game. Really, you should try more to use the items you have.
The Degree, Mario. The Degree shows how strong you are. Ha ha ha… I have it. I fought at the Dojo over there and got it from The Master. I am one bad Toad!
This Toad has tried his skills at the Dojo. That takes guts… Someday I’m gonna try it all by myself.
You can go home through that pipe in front of the main gate over there. You can enter the pipe by standing on the edge and pushing down on the Control Stick. Say, why don’t you give me a tour of your house someday?
He doesn’t seem to have any particular reason to be at the Dojo. He’s not fighting. He just loiters around, checking out the fighters. Maybe he just likes watching tough guys. I bet he’ll cheer for us if we challenge The Master.
Over here are two more creatures blocking the entrance to the Dojo. We won’t be fighting here for awhile.
Our Master was a strong man. He is going to come back a very, very strong man. We will wait here, right here, until our Master returns. Waiting is part of our training.
He’s one of the trainees who’s always at the Dojo. His name is Lee. He’s like an older brother to Chan. Lee respects The Master above all else and hangs on every word he says.
Unless our Master isn’t here, in which case the Dojo’s closed. A letter just arrived saying The Master will return soon. We will train again soon!
That’s Chan. He’s one of the trainees who seem to always be at the Dojo. He worships The Master. I mean, it’s all well and good for Chan to admire The Master, but I prefer Mario!
Named after Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. They did the same thing with the Hitmon’s in Pokemon.
We’ll loop clockwise, talking to this trio and then entering each building before we end the update.
How could such a thing happen? What… What’ll become of Princess Peach and the others who were in the castle?
She is the oldest of these three Toad sisters. Apparently they call themselves the “Three Beautiful Sisters.” I personally don’t think they’re that attractive, but I guess for Toads, they are. Goombas and Toads think about beauty in different ways, I guess. What do you think, Mario?
Feel free to debate the merits of viewing Toad beauty through a Goomba’s perspective.
She is the second oldest of these three Toad sisters. Apparently they call themselves the “Three Beautiful Sisters.” She obviously works pretty hard with makeup to look gorgeous. I guess… kind of cute… What do you think, Mario?
She is the youngest of these three Toad sisters. Apparently they call themselves the “Three Beautiful Sisters.” She says she’s cute. I definitely think she’s the cutest of the three.
At least we know Goombario’s power rankings of Toad Sister Cuteness. Though next update we’ll learn what Goombario’s type really is.
This will have to wait until much, much later.
Which is a shame, because this Star Piece will be taunting us for a long time.
In here is a regular Toad family.
She’s the homemaker here. She’s ordinarily very relaxed and easygoing. Since her lazy husband is home, she’s working harder than ever right now. The housework piles up every day, but somehow she manages it all with no help. Where does she get the energy?
Everything was shaking… the ground… the houses… I fell right over! It was so horrifying… that I’d just like to forget it ever happened.
This family man ordinarily works at Peach’s Castle. He was on his day off when the castle disappeared. Talk about your basic lucky coincidence! Wow! He’s a very reliable worker at the castle… but he never does chores around the house.
But now the castle’s gone, so he’s at home. When I said I’m glad 'cause Dad’s at home, I got scolded. …What’s up with that?
He’s one of the Toad kids. He likes his father so much that he always tries to sneak into the castle. He’s about the same age as I am. We sometimes play together when I come to Toad Town. I guess he’s a pretty good friend of mine.
But…Mom told me I had to be a good boy and stay home. How come?
He’s a Toad kid who wants to be really powerful. He thinks that having power solves everything. His way of thinking is a little bit different from mine. He’s a good enough guy, though, when we play together.
Ah, nothing like debating your philosophical differences to bring two playmates closer together.
Up to the north end is a pretty helpful guy.
The music changes dynamically when you visit different areas of Toad Town.
Of course I know who you are. I’m the wise Toad, Russ T. Pleasure meeting you. As you can probably tell, I love books and read all the time. Because I’m so well read, I know all sorts of interesting facts. Whenever you visit with me, I’ll be happy to share all of my knowledge with you.
He’s Russ T. Everyone says he’s the smartest Toad around. He’s always happy to share his vast knowledge with people. He’s filled me in on things plenty of times. He knows a lot of things I can only guess at.
This guy will spout out random facts and hints when you talk to him. Here’s one for now.
So it is told that far away, at the very top of the sky, there exists a Star Haven, where Stars make their home. In Star Haven, there’s a treasure called a Star Rod. According to legend, it was made with ancient magic. There are said to be Stars that are particularly strong and good-hearted. They are called Star Spirits. Using the magical Star Rod, these Star Spirits grant the wishes of everyone in this world. That’s why, when we make a wish to the night sky and it comes true, it’s all thanks to the Star Spirits and their Star Rod.
I’M GOOD THANKS.
Last thing today is the shop.
You’ll get prices and descriptions here. Three items we’ve already seen, and three new ones. The POW Block does less damage than the Fire Flower, but it’s very useful for shell enemies like Koopa Troopas. The far left is the Fright Jar, which can scare off enemies, and Honey Syrup, which recovers a nice 5FP.
I buy a POW Block for now.
If we choose to buy, he tells us to go next to the item to buy it. Sell is obvious, Check/Claim is how you store/recover stored items.
That Toad runs this shop. He buys, sells and checks items. If you don’t manage what you’re carrying well, you may not be able to hold everything. Check items when you can.
Next time, we finish exploring Toad Town and finally make our way to Shooting Star Summit.
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This brings me back… haven’t played this game in a long, long time. I remember it had a very cute and clever TV ad when it came out.
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Click Here to open the update!
Today we’ll begin exploring the eastern half of Toad Town. There’s actually a good chunk more but it’s currently inaccessible.
This is the central area of Toad Town, a plaza in front of Princess Peach’s Castle. Pleasant Path begins to the east of here. This used to be a bustling area before Bowser’s attack. Guests at the castle were always in and out. And tourists came from all over to see the castle. The wizard Merlon also lives around here. If you get stuck, his fortune-telling might just help you out! There’s also a Toad House where you can take a short rest and a post office where you can pick up mail for your party members. Also, over by the flower garden, there’s a guy named Rowf who’s opening his own specialty shop.
You get all that? Because you better have.
Another Star Piece.
The worst of it happened in the center of town. It seemed to rain wood. As a result, we can’t get to the southern part of town. The train station, the port… many important things lie south. Not being able to get there is a great inconvenience to me and to everyone.
He’s a Toad who often thinks about going south. Maybe his girlfriend’s there. Or maybe he just has a lot of friends from that area. He’s pretty chatty.
So we’re locked out of the south for awhile, but that’s OK because there’s already plenty to do and discover here.
[quote]Princess Peach Kidnapped!!
Castle Uprooted!!
A few days ago, Princess Peach’s Castle was stolen. She was inside and is presumed kidnapped.
The whereabouts of the princess are unknown, and where the castle once stood there is now a gaping hole in the ground.
According to witnesses, the castle rose into the sky.
As soon as we get new information, we’ll post follow-up reports on this board.[/quote]
There’s a bulletin board that gets updated as the game progresses. There’s also a secret bulletin board…on the other side of this one.
[quote]I’m scribbling on the back of the Notice Board. How naughty!
I heard Mario was defeated by Bowser… How ominous…[/quote]
Toads really love to gossip. I guess their lives are incredibly boring?
You never been? Just go through that blue gate there and bear right at Peach’s Castle.
This guy often knows rumors. He’s counting on you, Mario. You won’t let him down, will you?
Gotta save the princess so we don’t disappoint the yellow toad. This is the one and only reason I am still playing this game. I don’t think I can live with myself if the yellow toad is disappointed in me.
He’s weird. He also happens to be as stubborn as a mule. He rarely comes out. As weird as he is, though, his talent is no joke. He can read the stars. He even predicted that you’d come back safe and sound!
This friendly Toad loves to run his mouth. He’s a bit of a gossip.
You can find out what’s where in Toad Town by checking out the signs. What am I telling you this for? I’m sure you know it’s smart to read all the signs you see.
This Toad… I’ll tell you a secret. He’s a huge fan of the princess. He told me once that he has a big collection of her photos. What a lovesick fool…
I don’t know what’s sadder, obsessing over a princess or obsessing over road signs.
I’m not a big fan of this road sign. It’s too cluttered and hard to read. I’m only going to give it two stars on my road sign ranking app.
Merluvlee tells fortunes. She’s really good at finding Badges or Star Pieces. When you take Star Pieces to Merlow, he’ll trade them for Badges. These two could help you, no? You ought to go meet them.
This guy knows tons of gossip. His favorite subject is the brother and sister who live on Shooting Star Summit. Sometimes it’s tough dragging information out of him. But then again, sometimes it’s worth it if you’re curious.
We’ll meet those two in a bit. Meanwhile, I bet if you made a word cloud of this game’s script, “gossip” would be one of the largest words. Seriously, 80% of these Toads’ descriptions are “Loves to gossip.”
Next is…oh. Alright, then.
Yeah, you shouldn’t go.
Nope, no go.
Sorry, but no.
Of course, each of these guys has a unique Tattle.
He’s a funny color for a Toad. I’ve never seen him before.
He’s a funny color for a Toad. He reminds me of someone, though… But who?
He’s a funny color for a Toad. You know, I don’t think I want to know this guy. He looks like bad news.
He’s a funny color for a Toad. He looks…a little off. He’s trying to be cool, but he’s failing big time.
Next is a Toad House. This guy has the same dialogue as the other Toad House guy, but Goombario of course has new Tattle text.
This is the manager of a Toad House. These havens are all over the world, usually manned by a Toad. When you’re exhausted, you should stay and recover.
Just watching her from a distance makes me happy!
It seems like this Toad is always in love with someone. Right now, he likes Minh T. I think he’s in good spirits. As long as he can be near her, he’ll be happy.
Yes, Nintendo, this is definitely behavior that should be encouraged.
Hello! My name is Minh T. Please enjoy the beauty of this flower garden. I’ve heard there’s a lovely flower we don’t have here. Supposedly, Bub-ulbs have the only known seeds.
If you find a Bub-ulb, could you get seeds for me? I’ll plant them in this flower garden and raise them lovingly.
She takes care of flowers. Her name is Minh T. Nobody can match her skill at growing flowers. She must have a green thumb. Flowers feel Minh T.'s love and show it in their blooms.
She even has her own theme music that overlays the Toad Music. Finding these seeds is a long-term thing, so best to ignore it for now.
Rowf’s the name. I’m starting me up a little business in Toad Town. I’m still setting up, though. I wanna see you back in here when we open, all right?
This guy’s pretty funky. His name is Rowf. He sells Badges. He travels all over the world, buying and selling things. I’m a little jealous.
Dad’s preparing to open the shop soon, so I guess you gotta wait a little while.
This is Rhuff. He’s Rowf’s kid. He looks just like Rowf, right? He’s supposed to be helping, but it looks like he’s a pain… Hmmm, well, it’s Rowf’s problem.
Later on, we can spend coins for badges here. There’s usually a decent selection, but of course they can be rather pricey.
Next up, the Post Office.
His name is Parakarry. He’s a Paratroopa who works for the post office. He’s well known for being the slowest mailman around. A slow mailman? That can’t be good.
Same Koopa that delivered the brothers their letter at the beginning of the game.
You can read any letters that arrive for you or for your other party members. Please drop by now and then to check and see if you’ve received any mail. Well…
Progressing the plot will net you mail for Mario and his various partners. Right now, Goombario just got himself a letter.
This one being from the Goomba Bros. we beat up earlier.
Here you go.
[quote]Goombario,
You were a lot stronger than you looked. We figured you were just some punk Goomba hanging around with Mario.
Anyway, you proved yourself to us. And you showed us that being good is as important as being strong. So…
When you come back, do you think maybe we could be…friends? Please say yes!
We’ll be waiting!
Red & Blue Goomba Bros.[/quote]
We’ll keep the letters for you. Come on by anytime you want to read some letters.
This Paratroopa looks extremely serious. And stubborn. And hardheaded. If you have a letter coming, he’ll give it to you. I wonder if he has one for me.
Most of these letters are flavor text but they’re usually still enjoyable reads. I’ll definitely pop in here every now and then to read more of them.
The last building in this part of Toad Town is closed. If we try going south…
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to go to the south side of town with all this scattered wood. Don’t worry. We’re restacking it as quickly as possible. I know it’s inconvenient, but please bear with us while we get everything in order.
This Toad is diligent and very hard working. He has a great work ethic. I heard he has a bit of a crush on Merluvlee, who lives on Shooting Star Summit.
Both the south and east exits are closed off, so all we can do is go north to Shooting Star Summit.
Peach’s Castle…used to be here. There’s not even a trace of it now. How awful!
Completely lifting a castle into the air did make…a bit of a mess where it used to be.
I was in the castle when it started to shake, but my lightning-quick feet got me out. I know Luigi made it out with maybe a few others… But everyone else was taken.
He’s a Toad. He never fails to go for a walk, even if it’s nasty out. He also loves cleaning for some reason. He cleans like crazy!
Seriously how do you know these things, this is starting to get creepy.
Next screen begins our trek to Shooting Star Summit.
This place feels strange and mysterious, doesn’t it? If we go east from here, we’ll eventually get to Shooting Star Summit.
At this point, shooting stars start falling and some pretty sweet music starts playing.
An adequate road sign. Concise and to the point. Three stars.
This is not a road sign because it’s not on a road, so I refuse to review it.
I will follow its advice, however.
This is the house of an amazingly gorgeous woman, the fortune-teller Merluvlee. Merlow, who collects Star Pieces, also lives here. This house pulses with psychic power. Can you feel it? It feels…weird. It feels like I’m floating on some sort of spiritual cushion.
Anyway, there’s quite a bit you can do here. That chest is empty and useless right now, but later…
This spot is a little tight for fortune-telling. If you want your fortune read, talk to me over the counter.
She’s a gorgeous lady named Merluvlee. I can’t believe I’m in the same room with her! She foresees events and uses her magic powers to find what you’re looking for. She’s very accurate. I think I’m in love… She’s incredible! Pinch me, will you, Mario?
So if you’re wanting more research as to what Goombas find attractive, well, there you go. Meet Goombario’s type, the knock-off black mage.
My name is Merluvlee. I’m a stunning fortune-teller. My noble calling is to read fortunes while looking absolutely ravishing. I can help you find what you seek. My twinkle star here will show me all that’s hidden. My, my…
This incredibly humble fortune-teller is actually quite useful. She’ll tell you where to find star pieces and badges. This sort of fortune telling is great in the world of FAQs, because if you miss something it can be hard to track it down even with a walkthrough, so a hint as to where to go both comes in handy and also gives you reason to use these services. Much better than generic hints or whatever.
That said, no reason to really use these until the end-game, so I pass. As for Super Blocks, it’ll be awhile before those are relevant, so ignore those for now.
And if you think I’m going to transcribe every single hint you’re crazy.
Mister! You have any Star Pieces? If you do, I’ll swap some cool Badges for them!
Which Badges do you want to swap for?
There’s a good number of badges we can buy. Obviously not going to describe all of them, but there’s a few solid ones, like Zap Tap (electrifies Mario, which hurts enemies that use contact moves on him), Flower Saver (reduces all FP costs by one), and Power Plus (boosts Mario’s attack by one). Of course, they’re also pretty pricey.
If you have any preferences, let me know! I’m not really invested in any of them quite yet.
Ahh… Did you change your mind? I see…
He’s Merlow. He’s about the same age as I am. I wanna play with him when we finish our adventure. I guess he trades Star Pieces for Badges. Merluvlee, who’s downstairs, is his sister. He’s so lucky!
How is he lucky to have a sister you’re attracted to, Goombario. Maybe you should take a cold shower or something.
This is Shooting Star Summit. Stars are really…uh, shooting. People say that this place, like no other, reaches up and embraces the sky.
Anyway, the upper path takes us to where we need to be.
Of course there’s a Star Piece here.
Otherwise, just a long circular path up that looks kinda cool in motion (but of course would also mean large GIFs so use your imagination).
Up top…
He’s an old Star Spirit. His name is Eldstar. He reminds me of my grandpa. He’s a revered person who lives in Star Haven, way up beyond the sky. Uh…a revered star, I mean. I wonder why he’s here. He should be in Star Haven. And why does he look so…dim? I can see right through him.
Our job is to grant the wishes of good people from our home in Star Haven, a place high beyond the sky. We’re going to tell you something incredibly important. Please listen carefully.
…Bowser and his followers invaded our peaceful Star Haven. They stole our prized treasure, the Star Rod, which we’ve cared for since the beginning of time.
For as long as we can remember, Bowser has been making wishes like, for instance…
Of course, Stars ignore such selfish wishes. As a result, his wishes were never granted.
When he found out that we were ignoring his wishes, he came and stole the Star Rod so he could grant his own wishes. He seems content right now, mainly because he defeated you and captured the princess. Soon enough, though, I fear he will wish for more…and then terrible things will happen.
We must get the Star Rod back from Bowser and return it to its rightful place! In order to do this, Mario, we need your help!
…right now you are not strong enough to challenge Bowser…he has made himself all-powerful by making wishes with the Star Rod. He is terrible to behold!
…we can give you the power to fight Bowser even with his newfound strength. With our help, you can prevail!
Alas… We’ve nearly exhausted our power to talk to you. Although it looks like we’re there beside you, it is only an illusion. We’re using all of our strength to communicate with you over a great distance. But even now, our strength is fading… We’ve been caught and are being held by Bowser’s followers in different places throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Please, Mario, first of all, you must rescue us!
…we need your help… Please, Mario…
Do you think the princess is going to be all right? I’m really worried about her.
We’ve now got our objective. Mario must find and rescue the seven Star Spirits so they can use their powers to help Mario defeat super-powered Bowser. Of course, Mario doesn’t know where to start looking…
Next time, we’ll get a new perspective on this tale.
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