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 Despite its 2001 (American) release date and being the second Mario RPG game, I hadn't actually heard of Paper Mario until after having played The Thousand Year Door, entirely missing all the references to this Nintendo 64 title. Since then I've played through this game several times, along with most of the other Mario RPG games. Although it may not hold a candle to The Thousand Year Door or, in my opinion, Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario is still one of my favorite Mario RPGs, and one of my overall favorite Nintendo 64 games. There's just something so endearing about having RPG elements; leveling, power-ups, equipment upgrades and the like in a Mario game. As usual, Bowser causes trouble in the Mushroom Kingdom, kidnapping Peach and managing to completely beat Mario in a fight thanks to the magical Star Rod, that allows him to make any wish he wants. Mario must get the help of the Star Spirits, the guardian of the Star Rod, to help take down the King of Koopas. Released in August of 2000 in Japan (February of 2001 in America), the game was developed by Intelligent Systems, who worked on a few minor Mario titles before Paper Mario such as Wario's Woods and Mario Paint. They would then go on to develop all the other Paper Mario games released so far. Why Paper Mario? Aside from just generally enjoying the game and wanting an excuse to play through it again, I feel like it will be a nice change from Crystal Chronicles. There's a lot more to talk about with this game, and more characters and story to go through for me to comment on and talk about, which I feel will a good transition from a rather "empty" game like Crystal Chronicles. About the LP: This LP will also not be live, I have no good way of recording it as such. I'll record the gameplay and the commentary separately. I'll be using my Nintendo Wii to play the game as I don't have a Nintendo 64 copy of the game. I don't plan on uncovering all the secrets and optional items, there's just too many with too little payoff for it to be worth it, in my opinion. I mention this in the second episode, but I will probably be skipping a majority of generic enemy encounters, as watching me fight Goombas and Koopas a dozen times would start to get very boring, I imagine. And I should note I won't be reading the dialogue out loud, so no need to worry if that bothers you. As a warning, since it came up in the Sandcastle thread, I WILL be talking during cutscenes, just so people know if that kind of thing bothers them. Schedule: As usual, there's no specific schedule. I'll simply get to the LP when I'm able to. Hopefully at least two or three videos a week. Spoilers?: Considering the age of the game and how little actual story there is, spoilers are okay. THE ADVENTURE UNFOLDS: Part 1 - Bowser and The Star Rod Part 2 - The Goomba King Part 3 - Shooting Star Summit Part 4 - Kooper Part 5 - Koopa Bros. Fortress Part 6 - Interlude I Part 7 - Mt. Rugged Part 8 - Dry Dry Desert Part 9 - Dry Dry Ruins Part 10 - Interlude II Part 11 - Forever Forest Part 12 - The Invincible Tubba Blubba Part 13 - Interlude III Part 14 - Shy Guy's Toy Box Part 15 - General Guy Part 16 - Lavalava Island Part 17 - Lost Yoshi Children Part 18 - Mt. Lavalava Part 19 - Interlude IV Part 20 - Flower Fields Part 21 - Huff N. Puff Part 22 - Interlude V Part 23 - Shiver City Part 24 - The Crystal Palace Part 25 - Interlude VI Part 26 - Into Bowser's Castle Part 27 - Bowser TheLoneStar fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Nov 11, 2017 |
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Sep 13, 2017 21:14
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 06:01 |
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Reserving this post, just in case.
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Sep 13, 2017 21:15
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And now for the first video proper. Part 1 - Bowser and The Star Rod I only just realized that Bowser probably got his huge castle and flying contraption under Peach's Castle by wishing for it...
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Sep 13, 2017 21:17
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Ephraim225 posted:The question you should be asking is why it's even possible to win this game at all, when Bowser is pretty much God. Far as I know, he just sits in the castle all game. That's one lazy God, I guess...
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Sep 13, 2017 21:41
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Part 2 - The Goomba King So, we got our first companion and fought our first REAL boss. Goombario's nothing really special in any regard really. Just a Mario fanboy, and at the moment can basically only do what equals a regular jump attack. I never found myself using his Tattle ability much in battle, I guess I just never really needed it. And I'm glad the next video will give us action commands so the battles aren't so...bland. I wish the game gave us some way to use them sooner, like after the Jr. Troopa fight maybe, but I don't know what they would've done. Oh yeah, and Mario literally beats up a baby. What a dick.
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Sep 16, 2017 01:30
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AweStriker posted:
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Sep 17, 2017 05:16
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Part 3 - Shooting Star Summit Now this is where the game really starts, I'd say. We've got our mission, officially, and now we can use action commands which will make battles easier. Speaking of which, I'll start skipping battles that include enemies I've fought several times before starting now. No reason to show me fighting Goombas and Koopas over a dozen times, right? I also gotta say, I really like the interludes taking place in Peach's Castle, not much has happened yet, but they get more complex and fun to go through.
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Sep 18, 2017 03:27
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Part 4 - Kooper Well, Mario is now right outside the Koopa Bros.'s Fortress. And on top of that, a new and more useful companion joins the adventure; Kooper. If it wasn't for the fact he can't attack enemies in the air, I'd have zero use for Goombario anymore. And given Kooper is the only character that can attack multiple enemies at once at the moment, he really helps out during the Fortress and Koopa Bros. boss fight.
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Sep 20, 2017 03:05
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Part 5 - Koopa Bros. Fortress First main dungeon completed. The Koopa Bros. were really easy, but of course they're the first real boss of the game, so that's to be expected. Pretty simple level, easy puzzles and enemies...again 'cause it's the first. I remember finding the fake Bowser thing hilarious when I played the game for the first time years ago. Now I just have to wonder how they showed it off so fast in front of Bowser because I overthink stupid stuff like that.
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Sep 23, 2017 00:58
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Carbon dioxide posted:Okay it's been a while since I last played this game, but I'm quite certain you can use mushrooms out of battle by selecting them in the menu? In this game too, not just in TTYD. EDIT: I looked it up. Apparently I have to go to the item menu using the C-Stick, not the menu I go to when I press start. That feels a little unnecessary, but at least I know. TheLoneStar fucked around with this message at 13:31 on Sep 23, 2017 |
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Sep 23, 2017 13:11
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Part 6 - Interlude I I enjoy the little Peach interludes between chapters, especially later on when they get more and more complex. For now, the small laughs they provide is more than enough. Also the sewers are a nice area of the game, full of secrets to explore as you progress through the game and unlock more items to get further inside. Shame there's so little to do in there right now. I also like the powers the Star Spirits give you. I never found all of them useful, but the option to use them to spice up battle is good enough for me. Jr. Troops also makes his first reappearance, and Mario shows off his sadistic side. And Mario is a prick to Luigi. Poor guy.
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Sep 25, 2017 03:56
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Carbon dioxide posted:....You can just get that block with the thunder item on it with Kooper from the side.
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Sep 25, 2017 19:06
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Part 7 - Mt. Rugged And here I get the most useful partner by a landslide, at least in my opinion. Parakarry has the always-helpful ability to attack enemies both in the air and on the ground, and has better attacks than Goombario, thus making the little Goomba entirely obsolete. Mt. Rugged itself isn't too bad, though the Clefts are horribly annoying, pretty much invincible without the use of Flower Points on some kind of partner's attack or a Badge. Still, at least it's not too long, and the Monty Moles are easy to take care of.
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Sep 27, 2017 05:03
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BlazetheInferno posted:I will say this: Goombario benefits more from the Super Block upgrades than others do with his basic attack. All the partners just gain one more damage to their basic attack, but this benefits Goombario greatly; the other partners' action commands on the basic attack increases damage by one. TheLoneStar fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Sep 27, 2017 |
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Sep 27, 2017 21:07
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Part 8 - Dry Dry Desert I dunno why, but I remember the Desert portion of this chapter being a lot longer. The Desert itself is rather uninteresting. A few secrets peppered about, but overall uneventful. Of course, it IS a desert, so I guess that's a good enough excuse. It being extremely lively would just be odd. The Outpost is alright too, a few little secrets here and there. I just wish it didn't take me as long as it did to remember the Lemon thing. Boy did I feel foolish.
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Sep 29, 2017 05:05
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Sorites posted:When I played this game, I was never able to switch away from maining Goombario. My collector brain forced me to use Tattle on every new enemy type, and they rotate the baddies enough that I was basically using Goombario for over 75% of fights. Carbon dioxide posted:Sir,
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Oct 1, 2017 00:03
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Part 9 - Dry Dry Ruins Second Star Spirit rescued. I remember Tutankoopa being a bit harder, his Chain Chomps more troublesome and powerful, but it seems like I've remembered everything about this chapter wrong so there we go. I was mistaken about which one this was, unfortunately. I don't usually use stat-effect attacks like Lullaby, so I doubt I'll ever use this ability. Things get a tad bit more complex with the Peach segment, still but a taste of things to come in the future with those parts. I am glad to say one of my favorite chapters is coming up next, with one of my favorite Paper Mario-exclusive characters showing up.
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Oct 1, 2017 04:40
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Sorites posted:It wasn't about 100%. Whenever I saw an enemy whose HP display was still hidden, I had to drop whatever else I was doing in the fight and Tattle it before I could proceed. Part 10 - Interlude II I don't really make much progress in this video, mostly just side stuff. I explore the sewers a bit more, check out the Dojo, and deliver a lot of letters. Though thankfully my second favorite chapter in the whole game starts in the next video, which also has my second favorite partner in the game as well.
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Oct 3, 2017 03:12
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Part 11 - Forever Forest And here starts my second favorite chapter of the game, and the inclusion of my second favorite partner, Lady Bow. Right off the bat she's deathly broken. Her Outta Sight can be abused to Hell and back if you've got a lot of FP or FP-recovering items. One can easily go through an entire battle without taking a scratch with it. Though I'll save such gamebreaking tactics to bosses and the like. I also like the creepy, haunted atmosphere, though kind of feel like they could've done more. Not a single spirit or ghostly enemy in the entire chapter. I mean I guess the main boss is kind of gross, but that's about it. It's not really a big deal, just something I noticed.
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Oct 5, 2017 04:36
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Robindaybird posted:I'm not sure if it's me, but your audio seems way louder in the latest video than it has been previously.
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Oct 5, 2017 20:59
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Robindaybird posted:commentary, Part 12 - The Invincible Tubba Blubba Chapter 3 done already, and a very useful Star Spirit gained. Still my second favorite chapter of the game. Felt a lot shorter than I remember, oddly enough. I dunno what it is about Tubba Blubba, but I just really find him endearing. I kind of like his design, and his intimidating nature before the very end was a nice touch, though the fight with his Heart was dead easy. Lady Bow really is broken as gently caress with that Outta Sight ability, I can't stress that enough. And my very favorite chapter is next, though I have a few things to take care of before then in the next video, and maybe the video after.
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Oct 7, 2017 03:06
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BlazetheInferno posted:Even at full power, the only thing Bow can EVER do to enemies with even a single point of defense is either scare them away, which has the same problem as Parakarry's "carry an enemy away" thing, or use her ultimate "Fan Smack" ability, which costs flower points... and I think still does only 2 damage per smack. So instead of ONE defense making her helpless, it's TWO defense is the "screw you, Bow" point.
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Oct 7, 2017 22:00
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Part 13 - Interlude III Aside from being up a one year-old again, not much going on here but some rambunctious Shy Guys. I'm excited to play through Chapter 4 in the next video, after getting some collectibles first. I'm also looking forward to later on, when Peach's little sections start getting more intricate, as so far we mainly only got the library section in terms of any kind of interesting gameplay from her.
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Oct 9, 2017 01:33
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Part 14 - Shy Guy's Toy Box Time to start on my favorite chapter. I dunno what it is about Shy Guys that I like so much. It's probably the vast variety of them, with a good amount in this game alone. I'm excited to partake in the boss fight again, I remember it being pretty fun, as well as amusing. I'm hoping to wrap up the rest of the chapter in the next video. The game as a whole seems a lot shorter than I remember it being. Oh well, still fun.
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Oct 11, 2017 02:10
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Part 15 - General Guy And alas the game's best chapter comes to a close. Love the General Guy fight. The three waves of Shy Guy enemies are pointless, but pretty drat amusing. And General Guy himself I find pretty endearing. Watt also joins the party, and is probably my favorite partner in the game. Her Electro Dash may not be the most powerful attack, but piercing the enemy's defense entirely makes up for it, I'd say. The next chapter is one of the weaker ones in my opinion, for a few reasons. But I'll get to those once it properly starts.
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Oct 13, 2017 04:40
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Part 16 - Lavalava Island And so the fifth chapter starts. I admit, I find the part with the giant tuna pretty funny, and having Kolorado along for the ride is nice. The Gourmet Guy section was a bit of a pain. Though it's really my own fault I hosed it up the first time. I still have to wonder who told that guy all of that sensitive information. Aside from that, I don't get too far into Lavalava Island in this video, so I'll save talking about it for the next post.
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Oct 15, 2017 04:30
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Part 17 - Lost Yoshi Children Not too fond of this part, really. Those Yoshi kids can go rot for all I care. Though I do like Raphael the Raven and his weird little squad of children with freaky talons. And Sushie joins the team, the second-to-last partner. I don't recall her being too useful after this chapter with the exception of fire enemies. Her Ultra ability of being able to attack all enemies on-screen is nice, though. Overall, I still found her kind of dull, but then again most of the companions in this game are.
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Oct 17, 2017 01:19
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Part 18 - Mt. Lavalava And now Chapter 5 is done. I never was fond of this chapter. The search for the Yoshi children was always a pain to me, and as I said before, Sushie's usefulness kind of wanes after this chapter is done, aside from the required swimming parts of the game. Kolorado was a nice source of comedy, at least, and as I also mentioned, I liked Raphael the Raven. The boss fight was nothing spectacular, and is so easily crippled by Ultra Sushie I almost feel like I'm cheating by using her. Still, not bad, at least. The next chapter is still my least favorite in the game though. What about you guys? What chapter is the worst for you? Also, Mario beats up kids AND murders babies? What a monster... TheLoneStar fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Oct 19, 2017 |
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Oct 19, 2017 04:58
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Part 19 - Interlude IV I feel like I accomplished a decent amount of side-content here. If I recall right, The Master's two other forms are the only optional bosses left. His first form is really nothing special aside from the high HP. Though it could just be that I waited so long to fight him that explains how easy he was for me. Kent C. Koopa...I almost feel like I cheated, having him put to sleep like that. At least in that case it's semi-reliant on luck, and from what I gather is the best strategy against him. And next time, I start on my least-favorite chapter in the game. Joy.
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Oct 21, 2017 03:55
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CptWedgie posted:About that female Toad talking about Flower Fields: She IS standing right next to a Bul-ulb, so maybe it told her about the problems there?
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Oct 22, 2017 04:07
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Part 20 - Flower Fields Looks like CptWedgie was correct. That Toad girl is still suspicious, I say. I gotta say, I can at least appreciate Flower Fields for the Amazy Dayzees, which I gush about quite a bit in the video. I'm a stickler for using tactics to break a game over my knee, and it's all the more better when using a regular game mechanic rather than a glitch or cheat device. But yeah, Flower Fields is pretty boring. The entire video is essentially doing favors for a bunch of flowers. I admit I find Rosie's bitchy nature to be hilarious, though.
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Oct 24, 2017 02:57
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Part 21 - Huff N. Puff And now Flower Fields is done, and I got my newest partner. Riding around using him is kind of nice, though I don't know if it's faster than my usual method. It's certainly less annoying to do and listen to, at least. In battle he's...okay. Only has two attacks that actually deal damage, and one attack that just blows all the enemies away, if you're lucky. Kind of like Parakarry's ability, but with multiple enemies instead. Huff N. Puff himself isn't too bad, as long as you use an attack that can hit all enemies, you can get rid of the smaller clouds and stop him from healing too much, and Smooch can come in handy if you don't have as much health as I do here. Getting close to the endgame now, only one Star Spirit left to go, and then I can take down Bowser.
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Oct 27, 2017 05:52
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Part 22 - Interlude V Mainly just Peach stuff and some side things from Mario's side. The Master wasn't too bad, the Zap Tap Badge is really great against him since it prevents those annoying two-part attacks. And I'm fairly certain his final form has a THREE-PART attack, so the Zap Tap Badge there is imperative. I kind of remember Peach's last few segments being longer than this. I swore she did some more exploring around and put on more disguises, but I guess my memory is just fuzzy. Either way, we're closing in on the end, with one last Star Spirit remaining. This next chapter is decent, to me. Just kind of middle the road in my opinion. Not too good, but not bad either.
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Oct 30, 2017 04:25
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Part 23 - Shiver City I'm thankful that there's no slippery, icy bullshit in this game's ice-themed level. It really wouldn't work for a game like this anyway, but those kinds of levels are always the loving worst. Even with that, I feel like this chapter kind of blows it's load a bit too early. This penguin murder mystery is easily the best part of the entire chapter, and it's basically the first thing we do, and then it's over in about ten minutes. The "Monstar" thing was kind of amusing, but aside from two short moments in the Crystal Palace, nothing much of interest really happens for the rest of the chapter, I feel.
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Nov 1, 2017 00:54
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Part 24 - The Crystal Palace And now all the Star Spirits are freed, and after a few side things, we can move on to Bowser. I enjoyed the mirror aspect of this dungeon, and the Duplighost sections, but that's really all I can say. This place felt too short and not really...last non-final chapter-y, if you know what I mean. It felt just like any other chapter, and didn't have a sense of major impact to it, which I feel is odd considering this is where the last Star Spirit is released. I feel like Crystal King's instant, massive healing is cheap as poo poo, but otherwise he's not too difficult, especially with a max-level Mario. And I guess I should mention there are now only three videos left, and I have the gameplay recorded and the videos edited and ready for commentary. The finale is a major doozy at about an hour long, even after trimming the fat.
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Nov 3, 2017 05:03
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Part 25 - Interlude VI There really isn't much to say here. This is essentially just me finishing the chain mail sidequest with Parakarry and getting the Lucky Day Badge. The badge itself is pretty good, allowing enemies to sometimes miss Mario at any time, regardless of his health. I could have sworn Peach got a second little adventure where she disguised herself, but I guess not. Either way, next time I deliver the last few straggling letters, defeat The Master, and finally go to confront Bowser.
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Nov 5, 2017 23:13
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Part 26 - Into Bowser's Castle Parakarry's poo poo is finally done, thank God. As for The Master, he wasn't as bad as I thought he'd be, but I gotta give all that credit to the Zap Tap Badge. Without that his combo attacks would've been a huge pain to deal with. Goombario's charging was also broken to Hell and back. Looks like people were right, he's way better than the other partners in battle. As for Bowser's Castle, not too much to say yet, as I'm only getting started. I will say I like the Guard Door, and the other two that'll be appearing later, they're pretty funny.
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Nov 8, 2017 14:49
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Part 27 - Bowser And here we have the finale. Replaying this game was a lot of fun. Even the chapters I didn't like as much, like Flower Fields, were still nice. I couldn't help but compare the game to The Thousand Year Door, mainly because I played that first. And I know that isn't fair, though I kept kind of wishing I was playing the sequel instead sometimes. Either way, this was the first time I abused the Amazy Dayzees, and it really made a Hell of a difference for the last two chapters. It felt like it just made things way too easy, which I guess was good for the sake of the playthrough. I give any more direct thoughts in the video itself, so I don't want to be redundant. Either way, so glad I got to revisit this game again, I forgot how good it was after having not played it for so long.
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Nov 11, 2017 01:12
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 06:01 |
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CptWedgie posted:For reference: A halberd is a spear that is also an axe. Or an axe with a spear's handle, whatever. You get the point. And I suppose that's true with Door #2. I just thought it was funny there like, fifty minions lying in wait that decide to play a game instead of fight. And I remember thinking that with the Toads too, but forgot to say anything.
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Nov 11, 2017 03:16
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