Mario And Luigi: Partners In Time - Strategy Guide (Page 04)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Mario And Luigi: Partners In Time - Strategy Guide (Page 04).

     Bob-omb- HP: 35 EXP: 30 Coins: 5 Drop: Pocket Chomp
     Weak: None Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix
     These little guys have only two attacks: tackling and exploding. When 
     they run towards you, take a tiny hop, stop, then run again; jump a 
     second after they hop, and they'll run underneath you and be stomped on. 
     If they turn their bodies a little after stopping, though, they'll run 
     towards the other character; I rarely see this, but be ready for it. 
     Now, if they light their fuse before charging, they'll move more quickly 
     and simply explode when they get underneath you. This time, though, you 
     want to jump as they're moving into you, because unless you're at the 
     peak of your jump when they detonate, you'll be hurt. They have another 
     method of exploding on you- moving up and down in front of the Bros., 
     then running in and blowing up. You counter this by having your hammers 
     ready, and whacking it once it's passing in front of you. Don't hesitate,
     because it won't move that way for long.

     Elite Boom Guy- HP: 80  EXP: 40 Coins: 8 Drop: Bro Flower, Blue Pepper
     Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: Ice
     Again, these are exactly the same as their weaker version in BB's castle,
     with the obvious increase in speed and attack. The signal for which kind 
     of shot they'll fire is also the same- both hands up for an immediate 
     shot; one hand pointing for a puff of smoke, then a bullet.


     Immediately you'll see a fountain and a fire nearby; extinguishing it 
and smashing the rock wall at the end of the small corridor will bring you to 
a shop run by Monty Moles; the new Bros. Item, the Trampoline, is sold here; 
I wouldn't buy any, though, because you'll be finding plenty inside the 
treasure blocks, and the Dark Boo enemies will drop more. On the clothing and 
badges side are some interesting pieces- The Muscle Slacks and Thrilling 
Slacks feature a disgusting drop in defense in order to raise attack, and the 
Svelte Slacks and Tissue Pants also drop defense horribly, in order to raise 
HP, speed, and stache. As for badges, we have the POW-Peak Badge, which gives 
a tremendous boost in attack, but each battle, a countdown starting at three 
ticks down each of your turns, and once it hits 0, you faint. Now, the badges 
alone will enable you to kill everything, even in groups of five, in the 
three turns given to you, and along with the Muscle Slacks, the Bros. will be 
freakishly strong. If you're confident in your dodging/counter ability, by 
all means splurge on these, as you'll be wrecking everything in sight. 
Otherwise, don't touch this crap with a ten-foot pole. Once you're done here, 
proceed to the right.

     On the far right of this room is a slope with a purple ! block atop it. 
No crafty skills are needed to climb up to it or anything; once you hit it, 
the ledge in the upper left will drop down and form steps, leading to a path 
the adults must take by themselves, for it requires the Bros. Ball. As for 
the babies, tunneling under the gate to the north will get you some peppers, 
both red and green, which increase your attack and defense, respectively. I 
don't particularly care for these, but there are people that swear by their 
usefulness (well, the red ones at least), so it's up to you. There's nothing 
else the tykes can do until the adults summon them, so just sit tight. Once 
the Bros. roll their way into the next room, you'll hear a scream, and once 
again bear witness to the consumption of Kylie.. this time by good 'ol Petey. 
Guess the Bros. don't care about ya, Ky. Anyways, the pipe for the babies is 
just to the right of Petey's little digging hole, so bring 'em up. No 
puzzles or even enemies here, so grab what junk there is laying around, and 
be on your way. 

Two routes here, now- the one on the bottom leads to a 
dead end containing a 4-man coin block; go after it if you like. Otherwise, 
simply deal with the enemies here and exit via the left. In this next room, 
you'll want to tunnel the babies under the gate, bringing you to a fountain 
and a Monty Mole, who wants you to spit water at targets as they pass by, 
matching whichever is scrolling by on the bottom. Take several gulps of water 
and start the wheel spinning in the previous room using the Bros. Ball. It 
starts off quite simply, with both targets moving very slowly; simply stand 
by the right side and whack BM once a match is scrolling by. For the second, 
the bottom runs the opposite way, and the speed picks up slightly; for the 
third, the bottom will scroll by very quickly, and you'll have to figure out 
which it was before firing at the target, which moves somewhat quickly 
itself. Get three matches, and a bridge will form at the bottom of the 
previous room. Crossing it will bring you to another course for the Bros. 
Ball to trek over; hitting the purple ! block on the pedestal will sprout a 
peg necessary for you to make it to the other side. You don't need it to get 
to the other side, as you can just drop to the bottom of the room, but in 
order to climb back up and continue, you'll need to use it. The baby tunnel 
down here leads to a Dire-Free badge, giving the wearer unlimited Bros. Items 
when at less than 1/4 HP. On the far left, you'll come to a room with a pipe, 
bringing you back up to the Gritzy Desert; Luigi will automatically hit the 
purple ! block there and lower the blocks down to a reachable height, making 
for easy access to and from the caves. The northwestern exit leads back to 
the save point where you started. Hopefully you hit the switch block before 
jumping down here, because otherwise you'll have to walk back around through 
each room up to this point. Once you're done here, roll across the chasm and 
take the lower-right exit. This brings you to a pipe for the babies, as well 
as a pipe into the next section of the caves. Onto the next room...

     Here you'll find the path blocked by giant stone pillars, and the only
thing for you to do is to throw the babies up to the hidden passage. At the 
end of this corridor is another Monty with a ! block; it's another Bros. Ball 
course in which you are timed, and much like the desert course, it is very 
easy. Just stop once you get to the slope across from the platform with the 
second switch block, and jump; use a spin if you don't think you can make it. 
Noticed those blocks on the walkway above you as you rolled by? The blocks 
there contain 60 coins and a Big-DEF Badge. Don't bother backtracking for the 
little ones; the walk is annoyingly long if one is just walking. As you enter 
the next room, you'll immediately find a pipe that you can bring them back 
with, anyway. For such an extremely large room, it doesn't have much; a few 
enemies here and there, and two pipes for the babies to be hurled into, 
netting you a couple 100-coiners. Exit's in the lower left.

     Here we meet a powerful new enemy, the Elite Boom Guy! Eliminate these 
bastards first, as they're the most powerful enemies in here. To proceed, the 
babies must use their hammer to pound the switch, lowering one of the blocks 
to a height the adults can reach. Taking the Bros. Ball route from the 
entrance will nab you some goodies, among them another Big-POW Badge; the 
stuff opposite those treasures can be gotten on the other side, with a spin. 
The next room is once again huge and devoid of puzzles; only the pipe in the 
upper-left contains a 100-coin piece. Kill the nasty Elites and pharaohs, and 
continue on to the right, where you'll find another cog wheel to spin, and a 
hidden passage before it; throw the babies up here, and you'll find a bunch 
of platforms like the ones we used in Toadwood Forest. By spinning the cog as 
the adults, the platforms will move back and forth, allowing the babies to 
cross. Move the ball into the cog, but stop as soon as it begins to turn; if 
you move into it full force, the cog will turn much faster, as will the 
platforms, making them much too difficult to jump onto. Anyways, as you 
cross, you'll find two blocks along the way; hit them and you'll receive a 
measly amount of coins, but a set of numbers will appear. Once you make it 
to the other side, you'll find a third block at the top of the little 
mountain of rock, ticking the numbers down to 0 and lowering a pillar for the 
adults to cross. Leave the babies in their current position and spin across 
the bed of thorns, then summon the tykes with the pipe. Onwards!

    The next room is another big 'un, with nothing but a few blocks containing 
crap for items and some lethal Elites. The room connected via the lower-right 
however, houses a lone Elite and two Super Drops, plus a single Ultra Drop. 
Handy. All that's left to do now is to back out and take the lower-left exit 
of the previous room, bringing you to a pipe. The following room has four 
different Bros. Items, and a save point; compressing the blue switch will 
release the bar on the huge, black door in front of you... ...opening up a 
door that the bars weren't even barricading. Um, okay. The next room is quite 
large, but all there is for you to do is to have a baby jump from a 
piggyback and hit the block in the center.

     All that was inside the block was a single coin, but the noise got the 
attention of Petey, who springs up from his hidey-hole. More stupidly amusing 
things to watch, namely the near-death experience of Baby Luigi, saved only 
by a baby being thrown into the back of the beast's head. Next time I'm in 
danger, I'll see if I can use any infants to my advantage. Anyways, seeing as 
these guys can run for their lives without someone screwing it up for 
everyone else, we're going to have to fight this guy.

BOSS: PETEY PIRANHA
HP: 1300
Weak: Fire
EXP: 360
Coins: 250

I utterly destroyed this guy with only four Trampolines, thus avoiding his 
somewhat annoying second phase, but I had my Bros. equipped with the Muscle 
Slacks and POW-Peak badges, so things went a little more quickly for me. His 
attacks don't vary at all while he's flying, but your means of dodging them 
do. Petey will leap up to the top screen and dive off of blocks onto the 
ground below, sending a seed flying at each of your heroes. Depending on how 
he dives, you'll either jump with one before the other, or at the same time; 
a forward dive means Mario should jump first and Luigi soon afterwards; a 
flip (spiraling repeatedly) means both should jump at the same time; and a 
backwards dive (mouth facing the Bros.) means Luigi should jump first, 
followed by Mario. As soon as Petey's body makes impact with the ground, the 
seeds will fly, so that is the time to jump. Eventually, if you haven't 
killed him yet, Petey will burrow underground, with only his head poking out; 
He cannot be jumped on in this state. He now uses two different attacks; the 
first consists of sending a pendulum dangling from a block whipping towards 
you, which is countered with the hammer, sending it back to the other brother 
(several times in a row); for the second, he'll burrow completely and attempt 
to pull the Bros. down with him into a sinkhole. Jump CONSTANTLY, as fast as 
you can, over and over, and you should avoid this one. That's all there is 
to Petey. Not a large arsenal, but he likes to attack three times in a row, 
so be ready for them. Lastly, he has a weakness to Fire, but you're better 
off saving your Fire Flowers for the times he's burrowed. If he's susceptible 
to jumps, take advantage of the opportunity and pelt him with Cannonballers 
or the Trampolines.

     Destroying this fugly disgrace to all Piranha Plants everywhere will 
present us the contents of his stomach- Kylie, still in one piece, and 
another Cobalt Star shard! Kylie takes a good, long look at it, and 
insists that someone was looking back at her, but quickly diminishes the 
thought to her own likely stupidity. However, she managed to get her hands on 
a very large key, which she claims to have stolen from the Shroobs. Wonder 
what it unlocks? She suspects it's something inside their mothership, but 
who knows. Say... what happened to Peach? Wasn't she eaten by Petey as well?
Apparently she was spit out during the consumption of Kylie.. huh. She must 
be held captive elsewhere, then.

     To get out of this room, shatter the wall where Petey had already 
damaged it with his block. In the next area, tunnel under the gate, and as 
you're about to pound the switch, a familiar voice calls out. Could it be? 
Yes! We've finally gotten to Peach! Seconds later, though, we hear a 
scream... dig back out and run inside the cell, where we find the Princess... 
...with a hideous shroom on her face. So much for our kiss of reward.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[10] Just like Old Times... OOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


     With the shroomified Peach returned to the castle, it seems the only 
thing anyone is concerned with is the restoration of Peach, not the still-
looming problem of the Shroobs, tearing up the past as they please. Mario 
and Luigi are left to go about without any more tasks, so head back down 
to the first floor and visit the garden, where the Toadsworths had brought 
the crying Peach. It is here you'll learn, without a real need for it at the 
moment, the Baby Spin, allowing you to launch the babies into the air and 
gliding gently down by spinning into them. You'll need this to send them onto 
ledges you can't reach by throwing them. You'll also learn to flatten the 
babies by rolling over them with the Bros. Ball, allowing them to enter tiny 
crevices. As the lesson finishes, Baby Peach is blown into a hidden passage 
nearby, so now is your chance to put your new skills to use. Spin into the 
babies to get them into the enclosure, then activate the switch. Spin into 
them again to bring them up to the entrance, and they'll find Peach way in 
the back, atop a ledge accessible only by jumping repeatedly. Now how in the 
hell did she get up there?! =P

     The Toadsworths take Peach away for a nap, and once you head back inside 
the castle, there'll be a loud rumbling; a Toad runs by screaming about 
someone coming back. A "he" in fact.. now who might that be? Go to Peach's 
bedroom, and you'll find that the villain in question is indeed, Bowser. 
After making off with the Princess, he's confronted by Toadsworth, whom he 
avoids with a mighty leap- however, his weight shatters the bridge once he 
lands, and Bowser falls directly into a time hole below, followed afterwards 
by the Princess. There's only one thing to do- after them! The time hole is 
in the upper left of the first floor, and accessed by sending the babies 
across the large gap using the spin.. taking it will bring you to the 
base of a mountain, known as Thwomp Volcano.

[10.1] R0x0rz your B0x0rz

OOOOO Thwomp Volcano OOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Items: Super Mushroom (7)   OOO
       Ultra Mushroom       OOO
       Ultra Drop (4)       OOO
       1-Up Mushroom (2)    OOO
       1-Up Super           OOO
       Red Pepper (2)       OOO
       Green Shell (5)      OOO
       Bro Flower (2)       OOO
       Ice Flower (14)      OOO
       Cannonballer (3)     OOO
       Trampoline (2)       OOO
       Block Trousers       OOO
       Counter Badge        OOO
Coins: 257                  OOO
Enemies: Tanoomba           OOO
         Thwack             OOO
         Red Coconutter     OOO
         Mrs. Thwomp (Boss) OOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS:

     Thwack- HP: 54 EXP: 20 Coins: 2 Drop: Super Mushroom, Block Trousers
     Weak: None Resist: None
     I LOVE these guys for gaining EXP! All throughout the battle with these
     things, if they have any allies that have been killed, or any vacant 
     positions, they'll pound the ground and summon more of them. Any summoned
     Thwack is still given a turn to move, so they are likely to summon even 
     more, if possible. Otherwise, Thwacks have very quick, straightforward 
     attacks; either lifting up and hurtling at either brother quickly, or 
     lifting higher and flying overhead to come down from above. Jump as soon 
     as the Thwack begins to move towards you, and swing your hammer as soon 
     as they're overhead, and they'll be stopped. Their color indicates who 
     they'll be attacking; bear in mind that Thwacks will only stay in battle 
     for so long before turning gold and exploding into boulders, which will 
     roll towards the heroes. Jump the moment they burst apart to clear the 
     rocks.

     Tanoomba- HP: 90 EXP: 82 Coins: 9 Drop: Pocket Chomp, Green Pepper
     Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None
     The morphing Goombas are back from SSS, this time with three new attacks 
     up their sleeves. Their first and most common involves morphing into a 
     spiny shell and circling around the Bros.; jump with both as the attack 
     begins, then with each person as the shell comes near. It may make 
     anywhere from 1-3 passes before retreating. Its second and third attacks 
     involve jumping into the top screen and morphing into one of two objects-
     a Thwomp, which falls very quickly, and a balloon, which floats down much
     more slowly. Have your hammer ready immediately to deal with the Thwomp, 
     as it's a lot harder to dodge, and you can tell whom is about to be 
     squashed or bopped by the manner in which the Tanoomba jumps; straight 
     upright for Mario, and flipping around for Luigi.

     Red Coconutter- HP: 85 EXP: 70 Coins: 7 Drop: Red Pepper, Ultra Mushroom
     Weak: Ice Resist: None
     These freaks battle exactly the same as their weaker versions, with only 
     one minor tweak to one of their attacks- they now fire their blow guns 
     multiple times from behind the Bros. Jump each time the tube moves 
     towards you, and the darts should miss. Kill these idiots first, as they 
     like to heal everyone with rain.


     Head up from the save point and, ignoring the Toads (X-TREEEEEEEEEEEME!) 
spin into the babies to send them up to the purple ! block, which will open 
up a path once hit. If you want an Ultra Mushroom, roll over the babies with 
your Bros. Ball and send them up the tiny passage. You'll be doing a lot of 
this stuff while you ascend the mountain. Next, cross the bridge and greet 
your best friend for leveling up right now, the Thwacks. These guys love to 
constantly bring more Thwacks into the fray, giving you gross amounts of EXP 
once you're finished. If you happen to win a pair of Block Trousers from 
these, put 'em on, as they offer a nice boost in defense. If you're wearing 
Muscle Slacks, though (as I am), don't bother, as you'll lose your 
Plumber-on-Steroids powers. Anyways, it's a long climb up, and you'll pass a 
few goodies accessible via the Baby Spin, and eventually come to a platform 
above a bed of spikes; instead of taking the Bros. Ball only route, use the 
Baby Spin again and send the tots across the platform to nab the items, then 
simply use the pipe on the other side to bring the adults over. Don't drop 
down the ledge you see on the other side, for it doesn't lead to any bean or 
alcove of any sort; it's just a long way down to the beginning of the 
climb. Proceed upwards.

     More fun with Thwacks. This room is devoid of puzzles, so just demolish 
the emotional rocks and continue north. This next room presents a new puzzle 
you'll see a lot more of, so learn to love it- it involves rolling over the 
babies to squash them, then sending them inside the tiny opening- the slot, 
not the one on the far right, where you'll find a fan; the wind produced by 
the propeller will send the babies while they're still thin up to the higher 
ledge, where they can find a spring which will send them to the top of the 
cliff. All the way over to the left is another switch block with a button 
atop it, meaning you must pound it down to the adults. Don't jump down, 
though; just send the adults to the right, then cross the bridge all the 
way over to the left, where they can hit the block, opening up a path for the 
babies to continue through. The adults have no way of joining us at the 
moment, so leave them behind and head up, where you'll find two pipes; one 
for the adults to join you, and another to continue further up the mountain. 

     Save if you please, then cross the bridge and have your first encounter 
with the mildly irritating baddie, Tanoomba. Their Thwomp attack takes some 
getting used to before you can counter it with ease, so be prepared for a 
few lumps here and there. To cross the bed of spikes, send the babies over 
first with the Baby Spin (the bean atop the Thwomp is gotten the same way), 
then send the Bros. over with their regular spin. Proceed left. There's 
another fan inside the hidden passage you'll come to in this room, or rather, 
a few fans. The babies can climb them in pancake form and reach the purple 
! block at the top, which will move the yellow blocks back a few steps, so 
the adults can climb up. At the top is a blue switch; compress it to open 
the door, er, mouth, and move on. In this room, you can't do anything but 
ascend; however, there's a Counter Badge on the far left for you to nab; 
climb to the top, and positioning the babies in front of the yellow ramp, 
spin into them and let them glide across the pit. A Red Coconutter will 
probably attack you, so deal with it, then nab the badge. Good one for the 
babies while they're apart from the adults. Either way, all there is to do is 
to head north. Another fan in this next area, only now you must use the 
adults' spin on the cog outside to get the propeller turning quickly enough 
to send the babies up to the top. Noticed a bunch of blocks along the way? 
The highest one on the right is a purple ! block, which will create a bridge 
for the party to cross into the next area. Grab the other treasures here and 
head upwards. 

     Don't be confused by the huge slots in the next area; the babies can 
neither tunnel nor walk under them while squished. Simply climb up this tall 
section of the mountain, using the Baby Spin and Bros. Ball to cross the 
large gap at the top once you come to it. If you don't yet have a pair of 
Block Trousers and would like some, hop off of the yellow ramp at the top 
and hold Up so that you fall inwards and land in the small alcove. The block 
there contains measly coins, but going right from there brings you to a small 
secret area with an M block, holding the trousers. You'll have to climb all 
the way back up if you do this, though. Once at the top, exit to the right 
and you'll find a pipe. Onwards!

     Use the save point in this next area if you wish, then leave via the 
right. Yet another hidden-propeller obstacle course here, in which you must 
spin the cog again, giving the babies the gust they need to climb higher, but 
then you must wait for a cloud to move in underneath you; ride this cloud to 
the right, then carefully hop over the other clouds and hit the purple ! 
block once the babies reach their normal height again. This will drop the 
huge yellow block on the right, revealing a path to continue. Nothing but 
enemies here; kill them all merely for existing, then head north, to the 
volcanic crater. It is here you'll find Princess Peach's crown, just sitting 
there on the grass; it must've been dropped when Bowser carried her down into 
the volcano. Stuffwell pops out to ponder the same thing I just said, when 
suddenly, a huge column of lava and rock bursts from the crater! A volcanic 
eruption! ...wait. If Peach is down there, then.. she'd be long since dead, 
following all laws of logic and physics, but Stuffwell decides we must put a 
stop to the eruption, and this game has already long since violated any rules 
that apply to a good storyline, so let's go. MIND THE EXPLOSIFICATION!

     Continue down the other side of the mountain, destroying and collecting 
as you see fit along the way, and soon you'll reach the attractive lab of 
E. Gadd's younger self. Spin the cog to the left of the door with the Bros., 
and it will open. Head inside, and he'll ignore all of your attempts to get 
his attention until Baby Mario pulls out his trusty hammer. He's studying the 
volcano here, and he won't believe the thing is erupting until the flaming 
rocks start busting through his roof and destroying his equipment. Soon an 
enormous Thwomp engulfed in flames crashes through, and will explode unless 
you do something about it! Make like a fireman and spin the faucet handle in 
the upper-left, then gulp 'n blow the flames out; it'll take a full 9 squirts 
to extinguish the flames entirely. Witness an inexplicable transfer of 
thoughts from younger brain to elder brain, and an even more bizarre act as 
the elder E. Gadd sends a torrent of water through a time hole and into the 
volcano's era, where it ceases the eruption. And I don't think he was even 
aware that the thing was erupting.. Um, okay. Anyways, we can now enter the 
crater and look for the SHOULD BE dead Peach. Before you you do anything 
else, though, go to the lower-right of E. Gadd's lab and enter the pipe, then 
hit the purple ! block you find; this will create a bridge at the base of the 
mountain, so you can climb to the top easily later on. I highly recommend 
saving now, then heading back to the top of the mountain. The enemies are 
still slain, so you'll have no opposition as you climb; at the top, witness a 
conversation between two thwomps; a round, caring wife, and her hubby, who 
hasn't yet discovered the beauty of proper English. He's angry because the 
eruption has ceased, and she's angry with us because she thinks we did it 
(what excellent reasoning, too). Now we go SQUISH!

BOSS: MRS. THWOMP
HP: 500
EXP: 400
Coins: 0

First things first, damage Mrs. Thwomp takes in her large form does NOT count 
towards her max HP; only damage dealt while she is split up will deplete her 
actual health. That said, it takes 150 HP worth of damage to shatter her into 
four different Thwomps; three are of course fake, with one being real. How to 
tell the difference? The real madam has perfect teeth (as in none sharp or 
missing) and no chips or cracks. While she's large, she'll roll several 
boulders at you very quickly; constantly have your hammer armed and ready to 
whack them out of the way. Or, she'll hurl herself into the air and come down 
with a shockwave; depending on how many times she spins while on the top 
screen, you'll have to jump with one bro before the other, or both at the 
same time. Three spins, and she'll land between the two of you; jump at the 
same time. Six spins, and she'll land by Mario, so jump with him and then 
quickly afterwards with Luigi. A whopping nine spins, and she'll land towards 
Luigi, so he'll have to make the first jump. She'll soon bust into smaller 
pieces, as 150 HP is eaten up pretty quickly at this point.

While she's broken up, she and her clones will raise an eyebrow and then hurl 
themselves at either brother; have your hammer ready to whack them away. This 
attack moves much slower, so you shouldn't have any trouble dealing with it. 
Trampolines attack every enemy, so don't bother with them; instead, use your 
good 'ol Cannonballers. Three or four of them to the correct Thwomp while 
she's divided up should destroy her. If you don't demolish her quickly 
enough, she'll reform into a large boulder again, and you'll have to repeat 
the process. This is a pretty easy battle; I recommend opening with a single 
Trampoline, as that should be enough to bust her apart. Provided that you 
don't suck with Trampolines... ;)

     Hubby's soon-to-be insulted wife will "help" us into the crater, where 
we'll watch a short scene in which Bowser, pleased with his surroundings, is 
all set to go about his evil ways until is snot-nosed younger self shows up. 
A little bit of trashtalking between these two, as it seems the whole time-
travelling bit hasn't dawned on them at all... The heroes are explaining 
things to the male Thwomp as this goes on, and then we're ready to delve deep 
into the volcano. If you want to get out of here at any point, just talk to 
the hubby, however scared he is of his fuming wife. JERK!


[10.2] Battle of the Ages!

OOOOO Thwomp Caverns OOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Items: Mushroom (2)         OOO
       Super Mushroom (2)   OOO
       Ultra Mushroom (5)   OOO
       Max Mushroom         OOO
       Ultra Drop           OOO
       1-Up Mushroom        OOO
       1-Up Super (3)       OOO
       Red Pepper (4)       OOO
       Ice Flower (13)      OOO
       Pocket Chomp (6)     OOO
       Trampoline (3)       OOO
       Copy Flower (18)     OOO
       Golden Pants         OOO
       Lucky Badge          OOO
       POW-Peak Badge       OOO
       Dynamic Badge        OOO
Coins: 218                  OOO
Enemies: Gold Koopeleon     OOO
         Thwack Totem       OOO
         Blazing Shroob     OOO
         Bowser (Boss)      OOO
         Baby Bowser (Boss) OOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS:

     Gold Koopeleon- HP: 10 EXP: 84 Coins: 100 
     Drop: Ultra Mushroom, Golden Pants
     Weak: None Resist: None
     These guys would rather flee than fight, but a few will still take a shot
     at you before doing so. These guys use the standard approach, fade, then 
     charge, but they also may take a lash or two with their tongues. Both of 
     these kinda hurt, so do your best to avoid them; the standard charge is 
     simple but much faster, and the tongue is dodged by jumping immediately 
     once you see their cheeks throb. Their HP is so low, but your attacks 
     will only be dealing 1-2 apiece to them. If you actually manage to kill 
     one, you'll be nicely rewarded.

     Thwack Totem- HP: 152 EXP: 60 Coins: 10 Drop: Super Drop, 1-Up Super
     Weak: None Resist: None
     Battles with these will always start at four Thwacks; they'll immediately
     combine into a single unit, though. They'll attack by either spinning 
     each segment and firing at you, which is deflected by the hammer, or
     rocketing into the air, then dropping each block onto the ground, forming
     a shockwave that targets a brother depending on the color of the block 
     that landed. Jump as they land, and you should avoid it. These guys are 
     found at the bottom of holes, for the babies to face alone.

     Blazing Shroob- HP: 100 EXP: 90 Coins: 10 Drop: Copy Flower, Red Pepper
     Weak: Ice Resist: None
     Oooh, these guys are NASTY. Once you enter a battle with one of these, if
     you don't end it right then and there, a UFO will fly in and begin 
     attacking in addition to the Shroobs; you'll also bring forth a 
     counterattack every time you attack one of them, in which the UFO 
     shoots 3-5 shots down onto you; you can jump them, but the saucer fires 
     them off quite rapidly, so you'll need to have jumped immediately, and 
     continue jumping again as soon as you land. You have no room for error. 
     To get rid of the UFO, jump on the Shroob; you'll take damage, but 
     you'll also fly onto the top screen and send the annoying saucer packing.
     Anyways, their standard attacks involve lobbing fireballs at either  
     brother at a pretty fast rate, and charging into you at high speeds. The 
     former is avoided by jumping immediately as the Shroob tosses the 
     fireball; the latter is dodged by nailing him with the hammer as soon as 
     he approaches. It's much like the attack Kamek used during your battle 
     with him; he moves very quickly, so release the hammer a little early. 
     Lastly, your best way to kill these menaces is to use Ice Flowers, their 
     weakness. If there's only one of them, a Green Shell will suffice. Every 
     attack, including the UFO's shots, can inflict burns, so be careful. 
     Better yet, kill these bastards right off the bat with extreme prejudice.

***Minor Note: The coins listed in the little window up there are only 
indicating the amount found throughout the treasure blocks and holes, and 
excludes the plethora of coins you can earn while the babies are spinning 
down the various chasms.***

     Proceed to the right, as the left exit leads only to warp pipes we 
can't even access yet. You'll come to a whirlwind over a bed of spikes; you 
want to use the Baby Spin and send the tots flying into it; this will allow 
them to coast down the chasm full of coins. Pick up as many as you can, 
especially the 10 and 20-coin pieces. Once you've hit the bottom (the chest 
on the left contains Red Peppers, by the way), exit and follow the wall of 
this large room upwards, and you'll find the pipe you need to bring the 
adults to you. This room has a bunch of Gold Koopeleons; chase one down and 
try to kill at least one of them for a bountiful prize of EXP and coins. This 
room also contains a block with your first batch of the almighty Copy Flower. 
Grab these, but don't waste them on insignificant battles with normal 
enemies. You'll notice the holes are back again for this level, but none of 
those contain any 100-coiners.

     In the next room on the right, you'll have nothing to do but to send the 
babies into the tiny space right by the entrance. This will lead you to a 
Thwomp that wants you to play a gem-grabbing game with the Bros. Ball; read 
his instructions and follow them carefully; I'm not going to outline it here. 
All I will say is that this is a very easy and very effective way of 
increasing your bean count, and that lining up three stars on the slots will 
become second nature once you spend a moment learning the patterns on the 
wheels. Humor the Thwomp and do as he says, and he will let you pass. If you 
want to stay and play a while, to at least gather up to 90 beans, now is a 
great time to do so, since you won't have the opportunity again for quite a 
while once you've beaten this level. The 100-coin fee is nothing, as you 
should have a few thousand right now. Anyways, finish up here and continue on 
past the bridge he'll create for you upon completion. 

     Straightforward room immediately afterwards; no puzzles, enemies, nada. 
The next room, however, introduces you to a new bastard, the Blazing Shroob. 
These guys have a pretty vicious counterattack to your hammer, so use the 
Ice Flower instead; they're weak to it, anyway. Other than that, there are 
just a few Gold Koopeleons and some pretty kickass items. Proceed once the 
usual dose of beatings have been administered. This next room has a Thwomp 
which serves as an elevator, much like the one we used to enter, but before 
you head down, exit to the left and hop into the pipe there. You'll come to 
a purple ! block, which will form a bridge for easy access to and from this 
floor from now on. Once you've done that, go back and stand on the Thwomp 
with the entire party assembled. You'll descend into the next section of the 
volcano, but your fall will be halted by a large, green switch block. To 
continue, you'll have to deactivate it. If you want to grab some items and 
EXP first, though, head to the large room on the right, first. Some more 
Blazing Shroobs here, as well as a Badge you'd do well to equip on one of 
the babies from now on- the Lucky Badge, on the far right ledge, accessed via 
the Baby Spin. I need not explain what this badge does, but I would like to 
mention that the coolest thing about luck is that Bros. Items like the Copy 
Flower and Trampoline offer an opportunity to land a Lucky! hit every time 
someone lands, and this badge increases the likelihood of the babies doing 
just that. They're generally dealing pitiful damage during those attacks, so 
this will hopefully put some more oomf into them. The switch block up there 
with this badge will lower the spikes above you, allowing you passage into 
the adjoining room. In there, you'll find a 4-man coin block; knock yourself 
out, then backtrack to the Thwompovator room...

     Once there, head left. Don't bother with the left exit, now- you can't 
do anything there. Instead, throw the babies into the nearby hole and situate 
the adults on the platform over the lava- yep, another one of these. Take the 
time to nab all of the treasures along the way, as some of them are pretty 
good. Taking the exit in the left-center of this lava pit will bring you to a 
room with more enemies and a POW-Peak Badge, as well as two Ultra Mushrooms. 
Nab 'em because you can, then leave through the upper-right. You'll have to 
cross the lava again, so do so, then summon the babies through the pipe on 
the right. The left is, again, inaccessible, so just exit through the right. 

     Another coin-gliding chasm, here. The block on the left, the Luigi-only 
block, contains a pair of Golden Pants for the babies. The Koopeleons will 
also drop them on rare occasions. Nab these if you like; the other two blocks 
across from it contain a 1-Up Mushroom and 20 coins, respectively. Once 
you've reached the bottom, you can head left for some coins and a purple ! 
block (that's what the green pipe leads to) for another bridge to make 
return trips easier; otherwise, proceed to the right and slay the many 
enemies here, grab some more Bros. Items, then exit left. You'll happen upon 
the green switch block; hit it, and the Thwomp will come down from above. Now 
you can descend even further, at least until you're stopped by another block, 
this being a red one. Right is the right way to go, but the left path leads 
to not one but THREE switch blocks; taking the pipes will bring you to each 
one. These are all just for backtracking, but on the way you'll pass a few 
beans and some good Bros. Items, so take the time to nab 'em. Once you've set 
the switches off, backtrack and leave the Thwomp room from the right.

     Here, you'll be forced to play a gem-nabbing game, this time using the 
babies to glide the entire way down. The thwomp expects you to collect more 
than 30 of them, which is quite easy; simply glide back and forth in a 
zigzag, much like their layout. The grab detection is pretty lenient, so 
don't worry about sailing right through it. Just don't hit one of the babies' 
buttons by accident, or you'll jump out of your spin and simply fall to the 
bottom. Once you've collected enough, the Thwomp will allow you to hit the 
red switch block. You can return here and play again, but it's much, much 
harder; there will be 50 gems, and you must collect ALL 50 in order to win. 
If you succeed, though, you'll win the Simple Badge; this badge drastically 
increases the strength of Bros. Items the less of them you have. Kickass in 
one regard, but you're always going to have plenty of items, and it won't 
work in conjunction with the Ulti-Free badge (more on that later), so go for 
this only if you're a perfectionist and want one of everything in this game. 
Anyways, when you're ready, return to the Thwomp and ride him down another 
level. Now, there's no more enemies or puzzles left to complete, so make sure 
you save, then head left and activate the last switch block, and then, 
finally, hit the blue switch and ride the Thwomp down to the bottom of the 
volcano. 

     Thwomp crashes right through the floor, leaving the four of you standing 
there... before Princess Peach! The babies toddle ahead of you, but before 
you can approach her yourself, the babies are sent reeling backwards by the 
little brat, Baby Bowser. "BABIES!" Seems he's always in our hair one way or 
another, eh? You don't get to lay a finger on him, though, before the King 
Koopa himself appears and puts the Bros. in their place. The two of them seem 
to have patched up their differences, and now they're going to team up to try 
and destroy the plumbers once and for all. Both children and adults going at 
it simultaneously... this should be good!

BOSS: BOWSER & BABY BOWSER
HP: 1200 (Bowser), 700 (Baby Bowser)
Weak: Ice (Bowser)
EXP: 820
Coins: 350
Win: Max Mushroom, Ultra Drop, Dynamic Badge (rare)

There is an "intended" way to do this, and then there's my way, which was not 
only extremely fast, but extremely necessary because I was working off of POW-
Peak Badges the entire time, so I only had three turns to do these guys in. 
First, I'll give the intended and easier way for newbies to this game:

You'll want to off Baby Bowser first. Why? Because he'll be healing Bowser 
after every turn, as well as giving him more opportunities to attack. 
However, while he's riding on Bowser's back, he's not even a target for 
attacking, so you'll need to get him by himself. How to do this? Go after 
Bowser for a few turns while avoiding his attacks; soon, BB will pull out a 
hammer and Bowser will recede into his shell. BB whacks him at you, and you 
must whack him back and forth while he builds up speed until he plows through 
BB and off the screen. He'll stay off for a while, so now is the time to go 
all-out on Baby Bowser. He's got no weaknesses, but he's not tankish like 
Bowser, so it won't take more than one or two Copy Flowers, provided you can 
keep the damage chain going really long.

Once he's been defeated, the adult will return, and with a weakness that BB 
didn't possess: Ice. Use your Ice Flowers on this guy without mercy until he 
suffers a drop in defense; then, depending on what you're comfortable with, 
go crazy with Cannonballers, Trampolines, or Copy Flowers. Copy Flowers 
should get you the most damage and IMO are easier to use than Trampolines, 
but you'll need very quick fingers to achieve really painful blows with them. 
If your reflexes are up to par, just use a Copy Flower or two and Bowser's 
1200 HP will be gone in no time.

Now for their attacks: Bowser may jump up and produce a shockwave upon 
landing; jump it with both Bros., but be ready with your hammers, because 
this move often causes Thwacks to fall from the ceiling; red ones will target 
Mario, and green Luigi, obviously. He'll also take a deep breath and spew 
flames at you; jump immediately after the gusts of air cease, but if he 
grins instead, there will be a nice delay before the flames actually come, so 
don't jump just yet. He'll do this anywhere from 2-5 times in a row. He might 
toss BB into the air, and upon BB's landing, launch a fireball at either bro; 
BB will spin counter-clockwise when targeting Mario and clockwise for Luigi, 
and fly off the screen completely when the fireball will be launched at both. 

Baby Bowser simply heals Bowser for 100+ HP, whacks his shell back and forth 
with the Bros., or initiates the BB toss I described above. While he's by 
himself, he'll simply whack or spit fireballs towards you; hit them back or 
jump as needed. Bowser is really the only one you have to worry about, here.

Now, what did I do during my fight with these two? I still had my Muscle 
Slacks and POW-Peak badges equipped, so I not only couldn't take more than 
one or two hits, but had only three turns to reign them in before the adults 
collapsed and left things to the babies.. and I don't want them to miss out 
on the great EXP from this battle. So, my first turn with Mario, I used an 
Ice Flower; it did 140, but no cut in defense. So, Luigi does the same thing, 
lands 242 in damage AND gets the def cut. I avoid their fire breath, then 
Mario unleashes a Copy Flower and Bowser is slain to the tune of 798 in 
damage. Whee. Baby is by himself, now. Mario gets one more turn before he's 
kaput, so I can't blow this. Fortunately, during Luigi's turn I use another 
Copy Flower, and manage to kill him then. Three cheers for reckless badges!

     After the battle, the lava beneath the Thwomp, not to mention the Bowser 
duo's fallen bodies, erupts and sends it sky-high; a UFO flies by and knocks 
Bowser off his perch, and the two reptiles offer some words of encouragement 
to each other before Bowser falls out of the scene and into a time hole. BB, 
on the other hand, lands with the Thomp on the top of the Shroob's 
mothership! The mothership blows open a hole in the mountain and sends in a 
device to beam Peach up into it. The Bros. run into the path of the beam and 
are sent up with her...


[10.3] The Key to Failure

OOOOO Shroob Mothership OOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Items: Super Mushroom (2) OOO
       Max Mushroom       OOO
       Super Drop         OOO
       Ultra Drop (2)     OOO
       1-Up Super         OOO
       Copy Flower (2)    OOO
Coins: 131                OOO
Enemies: Guardian Shroob  OOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS:

     Guardian Shroob- HP: 81 EXP: 90 Coins: 9 Drop: ?
     Weak: Ice Resist: None
     These guys are pretty annoying. They'll appear in large groups, and 
     either shoot at one of the Bros., using the telltale signs as always, OR 
     they'll signal one of their allies to team up with them; if they do, the 
     two of them will stop in front of one bro each, then raise their guns up 
     and fire them in unison. Problem is, there's often a delay in the time 
     they fire, so you may jump too early and be shot. Try to spot exactly 
     when they're about to lower the guns, then jump. The shots are fired 
     very quickly, so you have little time to react. I generally use a 
     Trampoline on these guys the first chance I get; that way I can kill all 
     of them before any can take a shot.


     This level is relatively short, and only has one enemy for you to face. 
There are still a few puzzles, though, and the Guardian Shroobs are plenty in 
number, so.. uh.. I dunno. Anyways, the room you're shot up into has a few 
beans for you, as well as a Max Mushroom near the top. Save if you like, then 
proceed through the exit at the bottom. To get the green treasure block on 
the top ledge in here, first spin the babies onto the ledge in the upper 
left, then bring the Bros. over to them by spinning across the gap in the 
middle, then spinning again (that ledge looks like it's above you, but it 
isn't.) to make it to the babies. Spin the babies up once more, and you'll 
have yourself two Ultra Drops. Exit to the right.