Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Strategy Guide (Page 04)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Strategy Guide (Page 04).

BOSS: MAGNUS VON GRAPPLE

Appearance: A giant humanoid robot. Its body is boxy, pink, and has a white X 
across it. The arms and legs are made of paper springs. Lord Crump sits in a 
hemispherical cockpit on top.
HP: 30
Attack: 2
Defense: 1
Location: the Great Tree
It looks like Crump is trying to take you out with an obligatory, bizarrely-
named giant robot. Luckily, this trash-talking monstrosity isn't too difficult. 
The only real complication is its point of defense; use your strongest attacks 
to damage him. (The Power Jump can be strong now that you have a stronger jump) 
Magnus' main attack is a stomp that can be tough to block, but isn't too 
powerful. (Try using partners *BOOM* to soak up damage, especially Flurrie) The 
only other trick the robot has is to detach its rocket arms. These arms are 
capable of dealing massive damage, but have only 2 HP, so take them out before 
they can attack! (Flurrie's Gale Force works well if you can perform the Action 
Command)

After you defeat Magnus von Grapple, Lord Crump and his remaining X-Nauts leave 
and the Emerald Star is yours! (As is a new Star Power, Clock Out!)

END OF CHAPTER 2

After saving, watch the Mario heads and prepare for another Peach scene.

???

The scene starts with Grodus in his throne room receiving a report of what 
happened in the Great Tree. He comments that there are 4 more Crystal Stars 
unaccounted for, since the X-Nauts already have one from Rogueport! After this 
slightly shocking news, we see Peach again.

As Peach comments on her situation, the door opens once again. Time to pay TEC 
another visit. (Take a shower again if you want)

When Peach visits TEC, it comments that Peach was wishing she could dance at a 
ball again. TEC doesn't know why, but it wants to dance with her. Before you 
have time to start laughing at the idea of Peach dancing with a 10-ton 
computer, it creates a holographic image of Peach as a dance partner! You start 
in a dance minigame with this holographic partner; hit the buttons that appear 
onscreen. After you finish, if you did well enough, TEC lets you use its E-mail 
again to send another message to Mario. Soon after, the scene ends and you can 
save again.

PETAL MEADOWS

Time for Bowser's scene! For once, the Koopa King is one step BEHIND you and 
attempting to track Peach down in Petalburg, where someone has apparently seen 
her. To get there, you'll have to play some...Super Koopa Bros!? This 
incredibly hilarious minigame replaces Mario with Bowser for classic 
platforming action! Playing as Bowser, you have to make your way through a 
classic level and smash everything! DESTROY!!! Use your fire breath to destroy 
stuff, and collect meat to make Bowser grow until he fills the screen and 
becomes invincible! Unfortunately, the level doesn't last long. (Why doesn't 
Bowser smash the castle at the end?)

After the level ends, you're at Petalburg. After Bowser scares away all the 
locals, he sees Peach standing in a nearby window! This is too easy! As Bowser 
approaches the strangely silent Peach, a Koopa runs out and takes his Peach 
poster to protect it! Bowser is now the king of guys who talk to posters! Level 
up! (Or not) With this, the scene ends. Save once more time and switch back to 
Mario.

BOGGLY WOODS

After some final goodbyes with the Punies, leave the Great Tree. As you emerge 
into the Boggly Woods, you get Peach's E-mail. She is still safe and trying to 
find out what her captors are up to. Now, briefly return to Flurrie's house.

Enter Flurrie's bedroom and open the chest to get an ultra-useful Super Appeal 
P Badge. Also, use a Spin Jump to find another Star Piece at the foot of 
Flurrie's bed. After getting these treasures, leave Boggly Woods and return to 
Rogueport...Sewers.

ROGUEPORT SEWERS

As soon as you exit the pipe in the sewers, Spin Jump around the room to find 
another hidden panel and Star Piece. Go back through the secret tunnel Punio 
revealed and out of the room.

Slip back through the bars and go right. One the way, test out your new Star 
Power, Cloak Out, against some Spinias. It's not exactly the strongest Star 
Power. Now that you have Flurrie, you can do something about the bad wallpaper 
on the stairs here. Blow it off with her field skill to reveal a Happy Heart P 
Badge. Now climb the stairs and return to the room with the black chest.

Spin jump in front of the pedestal with the chest for another Star Piece. Don't 
return to the Thousand-Year Door yet; first, return to the beginning area of 
the Sewers.

Find yet another Star Piece in the pit where you fought the gang of Goombas 
with a Spin Jump. NOW go to the Thousand-Year Door room.

Before revealing the next Crystal Star, find one more Star Piece by Spin 
Jumping towards the southern end of the room. Now, step on the pedestal. After 
the usual cutscene, the map reveals the location of the Gold Star. It's...on a 
floating machine high in the sky? How long has the map's warranty been expired? 
Head over to Ancient Stuff Inc. for a fresh one...or not.

ROGUEPORT

Back at Frankly's house, the professor says that you'll need all the Crystal 
Stars to break the 1000-year seal on the city behind the door. As if you didn't 
already know. Unfortunately, he doesn't know why the treasure had to be sealed, 
or what destroyed the ancient city. He then explains why the Gold Star is in 
the sky. It's hidden in Glitzville, a city in the sky whose main attraction is 
an arena where the rich come to watch and bet on fights. The only way to get to 
Glitzville is with a blimp in West Rogueport, but a ticket is very hard to get. 
The only one who could give you one is Don Pianta, the mob boss that runs the 
Pianta Parlor. After this, leave Frankly's house for some more sidequesting.

Firstly, if you didn't already beat Gus, now is a good time to do so. If you 
already have, simply go behind where he was and check out the new Troubles. You 
should also order the Contact Lens and give it to Zess T. to gain entry to West 
Rogueport if you haven't already. Next, it's time to use the Spin Jump to collect even 
more Star Pieces from just about every area of the game you've been to. Here 
are the locations of the secret panels you can find Star Pieces under:
-Rogueport Square-In front of the gallows.
-Rogueport Square-In the back alley, behind Zess T's house.
-East Rogueport-In front of Frankly's house.
-West Rogueport-In front of the Pianta Parlor.
-Rogueport Harbor-T the left of the bottom of the stairs.
-Rogueport Train/Blimp Station-At the left end of the train station.
-Rogueport Sewers-In front of Wonky in the underground plaza, to the left of 
the elevator.
-Petalburg-Near Bub-Ulber on the island in the left side of the village.
-Petalburg-On the patch of flowers next to the gate to Shhwonk Fortress.
-Hooktail Castle-On the left end of the long jail cell where you get the Castle 
Key, reachable with Paper Mode.

After getting all these Star Piece, consider paying Dazzle a visit and getting 
some great Badges. (Get a Power Plus Badge if you can to make the game much 
easier) Next, it's time to check on your wayward brother. He's back from 
Rumplebump Volcano. He tells you about his epic journey through the volcano and 
how his partner Blooey the Blooper (AKA the White Torpedo) helped him prevail. 
Unfortunately, Blooey doesn't see things the same way, and is furious at Luigi 
for deep-frying him in lava.

Next, you'll probably want to use all your new Shine Sprites to upgrade a 
partner. (I'd recommend Flurrie; she becomes great at soaking up damage with 10 
more HP and the Lip Lock attack) Once you're finally finished with sidequests, 
it's time to find Don Pianta. Unfortunately, he seems to be well-hidden and you 
can't contact him. (He is a mafia boss, after all) The next part if extremely 
unobvious. Return to East Rogueport and use Paper Mode to slip between the 
Trouble Center and the building next to it. Enter the building back here.

Talk to Ishnail, the snail-looking guy in here. He's surprised that you want to 
know where his hated enemy Don Pianta is, but he'll tell you for 64 coins. This 
is a steep price, but since you have this guide, you don't have to pay. (You 
could also pay him, then restart from your last save to keep the coins) 
Ishnail's instructions are as follows: first, buy a Dried Shroom and then a 
Dizzy Dial from the Westside Goods shop. The clerk should then ask for your 
favorite color; answer yellow. This will allow you to see Don Pianta. If 
Ishnail was actually telling you this, restart to keep your coins, then do 
exactly as he said.

After you buy the Dried Shroom and Dizzy Dial (in that order), the clerk will 
actually ask what color your mustache is. Even though you know the answer, say 
yellow to get to the real question. After you do these steps, the shopkeeper 
will let you see Don Pianta. Go out the back door, then climb the stairs and 
enter the second floor of the Pianta Parlor.

Don Pianta at first seems to refuse your request, but decides to give you the 
Blimp Ticket when you mention Peach, in exchange for your help. He wants you to 
find his daughter Francesca, who has eloped with another Pianta named Frankie, 
and either bring them back or tell him where they are. He shows you what 
Francesca looks like and sends you off. Head over to the pier, where the two 
lovers are standing together.

When you talk to them, Frankie decides to turn himself in (being an employee of 
Don Pianta), but Francesca wants to leave on a boat to escape her father 
forever. She makes you promise not to tell her father about finding them.

Now, return to Don Pianta and tell him you found them. He  prepares to send out 
some goons to retrieve his daughter, but the two enter his office. They both 
try to apologize to him and avoid his wrath, but he just tells them to leave 
and do whatever they want. After the two leave, talk to Don Pianta again. He 
gives you the Blimp Ticket as promised and orders you out. Go back to West 
Rogueport and head north to the Train/Blimp Station. Talk to the Cheep Cheep 
conductor and show him your ticket. He lets you pass and get onto the Cheep 
Blimp. Before entering the pipe to the background where the blimp is, check 
behind it for a Star Piece. Stand on the blimp's lowered platform and hit A to 
board it to ride the friendly skies to Glitzville!
---
d. Chapter 3: Of Glitz and Glory (Chap3)

Enemies: Goomba, Pokey, K.P. Koopa, Red Spike Buzzy, Dry Bones, Dark Puff, Pale 
Piranha, Cleft, Bob-omb, Bandit, Big Bandit, Hyper Bald Cleft, Iron Cleft, 
Lakitu, Spiny, Bristle, Shady Koopa, Fuzzy, Green Fuzzy, Flower Fuzzy, Red 
Magikoopa, Green Magikoopa, White Magikoopa, Bowser, Dark Craw, Red Chomp, 
Hammer Bros., Boomerang Bros., Fire Bros., Dark Koopatrol, Rawk Hawk, Macho 
Grubba

GLITZVILLE

After your voyage through the sky, the blimp lowers you on Glitzville, the 
floating city of FUN!!!!! The colorful square is filed with attractions, like 
an item shop, juice bar, and hot dog vendor, but especially the massive 
building that is the Glitz Pit in the back, which dominates the square.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SOUVENIR SHOP
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Earth Quake-15 Coins(!)
Point Swap-5 Coins(!)
Power Punch-15 Coins(!)
Repel Cape-15 Coins(!)
Super Shroom-15 Coins
Thunder Bolt-12 Coins

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
HOT DOG STAND
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Hot Dog-10 Coins

After checking out the shops (the Souvenir Shop is full of useful items), it's 
time for more Star Piece hunting. First, Spin Jump right below where you land 
to uncover a hidden panel. Next, look behind the phone booth next to the 
Souvenir Shop for another. (Try using the phone for some funny conversations) 
The next Piece is behind a potted plant on the right-hand side of the fancy 
steps leading to the Glitz Pit. Continuing clockwise, the fourth Star Piece is 
behind the counter in the juice bar. To reach the final one, you'll have to get 
on top of it. Use the crates southeast of the bar to get onto a big ! switch, 
then Spin Jump it to create some stairs. (Cool, huh?) Stand next to the 
billboard of the weird yellow guy and use Koops to retrieve the final Star 
Piece from behind it. Also, open the chest up here for a Power Plus P Badge, 
which should be equipped at once. Finally, look to the left of the juice bar 
for a Shine Sprite. It appears to be out of reach, but you can use your hammer 
to reveal a coin block underneath that allows you to reach it. Now, enter the 
Glitz Pit building.

There are more posters of the yellow bird guy in the sophisticated lobby. Spin 
Jump in front of the Bob-omb poster to the left to find yet another Star Piece. 
Now enter the double doors right across from the entrance.

These doors lead to the cheap seats of the Glitz Pit itself. The yellow bird 
guy is apparently the current champion of the Glitz Pit, Rawk Hawk. You're just 
in time to see the flashy crowd-pleaser finishing off an opponent. After his 
victory, the Tubba announcer interviews him. Time for some more trash-talking 
from Rawk Hawk. After this he holds up his championship belt. Wait...is that 
the Gold Star on it!? You're given a choice to try and steal it by your 
partner, but either way, you're going to have to fight your way to the top to 
get the belt and Crystal Star. Go back out to the lobby.

Go past the stairs to the right and talk to the secret service agent guarding 
the door. When he learns you want to become a fighter, he sends you to the 
office of the announcer and manager, Grubba. He then steps aside and lets you 
through the door.

You're now in the back hallway of the Glitz Pit. It isn't quite so fancy here, 
huh? Anyway, walk through it to reach Grubba's office, the right-hand door in 
the back. (Also the only one the secret service guards will let you through) On 
the way, jump onto some coiled wire and into the box right before the large 
blue double doors to get a Last Stand Badge.

You can tell Grubba's going to get on your nerves as soon as he starts talking 
to you. After he confirms you want to enter, he goes into a childhood story 
about his days as a fighter. After his motivational speech, he leads you down 
the hall to another room. This, he says, is the luxurious champion's room, 
which can be yours for only 4 easy payments of-I mean, if you become the 
champion. (I hope Mario isn't allergic to feathers) Grubba then takes you to 
another slightly worse room, where the rest of the fighters stay. (I don’t even 
want to think about how they manage with one bed) he then takes you back to his 
off and asks you to sign a fighter's contract. After you do, he decides to give 
you a new name for the Glitz Pit. ("Mario" sounded like a pizza guy, anyway) 
From now on, you're...the Great Gonzales! After this, he calls his assistant, 
Jolene, to take you to your room. As she does, she begins to explain the rules 
to you.

You arrive in the...less than perfect...Minor Leaguer's room. You can use the 
strangely GBA-like computer on the wall to view the current rankings or 
schedule a fight. Try it out now and contact Grubba to arrange a fight against 
the 19th-ranked fighters, the Goomba Bros. To make the fights harder and more 
crowd-pleasing, he imposes a random restriction on your fighting for every 
battle that must be followed if you want to advance. These include things like:
-Appealing a certain number of times
-Not being to use your jump, Hammer, items, or Star Powers, or attack
-Having to use at least 1 Star Power
-Having to take a certain amount of damage
-Having to wait a certain number of turns before attacking
-Not being able to use your partner
-Not being able to switch partners
Your victory will be null and void if you don't obey Grubba, but luckily most 
of them aren't too bad. You can always restart and try again if you really 
don't like your restriction.

Anyway, after you arrange the match, Jolene explains a few things further. You 
advance a rank if you win and follow the restriction, and descend a rank if you 
lose. Simple enough, no? After a few seconds of waiting, yet another secret 
service man shows up to take you to your match.

Soon enough, you're in the Glitz Pit, ready to fight, Grubba introduces you and 
your rather pathetic opponents. After some Goomba trash-talk, Grubba is about 
to explain the rules further when one of the Goombas pulls off a cowardly first 
strike! Try and block it if you can, then get ready to fight. The Goomba Bros.' 
group simply consists of 5 Goombas, and should be incredibly easy to beat, 
especially if you can guard their attacks. After you win, Grubba interviews you 
on the battle (he sure seems to love doing that) and makes the crowd go wild 
for you.

Back in the locker room, Grubba gives you his congratulations and Jolene your 
meager prize money. You're then free to do whatever until you schedule your 
next match. Be sure to use the bed in here to heal and use the Save Block 
outside.

After all the fanfare over your first victory is over, a yellow K.P. Koopa 
calling himself King K. walks up and befriends you. He introduces you to his 
buddies; Master Crash the Bob-omb, Bandy Andy the Bandit, and Cleftor the 
Cleft. Bandy Andy says he isn't in the room much (I wonder why?) and tells you 
about the bed in this room.

The challenge before appears straightforward at first. You must fight your way 
through the Glitz Pit's ranking to the top, then defeat the champion, Rawk 
Hawk, and get the championship belt. Since I'm not sure their order is 
definite, here are all the fighters in the Glitz Pit in the order they're in in 
my game (Make sure to Tattle on new enemies):

Goomba Bros. (Goomba x 5): You just defeated these guys!

The Great Gonzales (Mario and partner *BOOM*): You know who you are.

The Pokey Triplets (Pokey x 3): These guys aren't too hard, especially if you 
can block their attacks. Restart if Grubba doesn't let you use your hammer.

The K.P. Koopas (K.P. Koopa x 2, K.P. Paratroopa): This fight is against King 
K. and his buddies, but don't go easy because they’re your friends! With Mario 
and Goombella flipping them, they should go down quickly.

Spike Storm (Red Spike Buzzy x 2): These guys are flippable, but they also have 
spikes. Use the Piercing Blow Badge if you have it, damaging items (you can buy 
Earth Quakes and Thunder Bolts in the Souvenir Shop), or Earth Tremor to take 
them down.

The Dead Bones (Dull Bones x 3): You've already faced plenty of these guys, and 
they shouldn't present any challenge. Use Koops' Power Shell for a quick 
victory.

The Mind-Bogglers (Dark Puff, Pider, Pale Piranha): More old enemies. Just take 
care of them like you did in Boggly Woods.

The Bob-omb Squad (Bob-omb x 4): Focus your attacks on one Bob-omb at a time to 
keep any from exploding. Try finishing them off with Koops to avoid taking 
damage.

The Hand-it-Overs (Bandit x 2, Big Bandit x 2): These guys are ANNOYING. Be 
ready to get cleaned out unless you can block the Bandits' attacks, which is 
nearly impossible. Take them out ASAP.

The Punk Rocks (Hyper Bald Cleft x 3): These guys are much like Bald Clefts, 
only tougher and with the ability to charge their attack power by 6! Use an 
item or Earth Tremor to take them out before they can all attack for incredible 
damage!

The Armored Harriers (Iron Cleft x 2): These guys seem to be invincible, but 
Yoshi's Gulp attack makes short work of them once you get him.

The Tiny Spinies (Lakitu x 2): These Lakitus aren't too tough normally, but 
they like to throw Spiny eggs (NOT pipes) that hatch into Spinies, extremely 
tough, spiked foes. Try and take at least one Lakitu out at the start and focus 
on the other one, not the Spinies it creates!

The Poker Faces (Bristle x 2): You can use a POW Block on these guys as you did 
in Shhwonk Fortress, or just use Earth Tremor.

The Shellshockers (Shady Koopa x 2, Shady Paratroopa x 2): These are tougher 
Koopas with all-around better stats, except defense. Your strategy for them is 
mostly the same, but be aware that these cheapos are actually stronger while 
flipped! They can use a powerful tackle that hurts both your party members, so 
take them out ASAP if you flip them!

The Fuzz (Fuzzy, Green Fuzzy, Flower Fuzzy): This group is pretty annoying. 
Focus on the Green Fuzzy, which can multiply, then the Flower Fuzzy, which can 
use your FP for powerful spells.

The Magikoopa Masters (Red Magikoopa, Green Magikoopa, White Magikoopa): The 
Magikoopa Masters not only have powerful magic attacks, but they can also cast 
spells on themselves. Focus on the green one first, then the white one, and 
finally red.

Craw Daddy (Dark Craw): This is the first of the "miniboss" enemies you'll 
face. This guy is a stronger version of Gus. Use your strongest attacks on it, 
but don't jump on it when its spear is up!

Chomp Country (Red Chomp x 3): These enemies have extremely high all-around 
stats. Either defense piercing attacks, items, or Earth Tremor are the only 
ways to beat them.

Hamma, Bamma, and Flare (Hammer Bros., Boomerang Bros., Fire Bros.): This crash 
helmet-wearing team is extremely tough. Each one uses powerful attacks, 
especially the Boomerang Bro., which should be taken down first.

The Koopinator (Dark Koopatrol): This is the guy you saw Rawk Hawk defeating as 
you first entered the Glitz Pit. Even though he's not the champion, he's still 
incredibly tough. He can be flipped like normal Koopas, but his spiked helmet 
prevents this. Use Yoshi's Gulp and your standard anti-defense set of moves to 
take him down.

Rawk Hawk: A boss strategy for the champion of the Glitz Pit is found later in 
the chapter.

Anyway, after you claim 17th place, Jolene leads Bandy Andy into the room. 
Apparently, he's been "sneaking" around and got caught. (He is a Bandit, after 
all) As soon as Jolene is gone, he leaves again. That Andy never learns...

After advancing to rank 16, you hear some panicked voices outside your room; a 
badly injured fighter is being rushed to the hospital. (Where exactly is the 
hospital, anyway?) According to King K. this happens all the time...

After getting to 15th place, King K. approaches you again. Apparently, Mr. 
Hoggle the hot dog vendor has a new kind of hot dog using an egg from an exotic 
island south of Rogueport. As disgusting as a hot dog with eggs sounds, you 
should go and try one sometime. (You DID know you could leave the Glitz Pit, 
didn't you?)

If you didn't already, you'll find Mr. Hoggle just to the left of the Glitz Pit 
in Glitzville square. (Or Glitzville octagon) You'd better not count on that 
eggy hot dog after all (and you had your hopes up, too); Mr. Hoggle is chasing 
a runaway egg outside his stand! Help him out until the egg jumps on top of the 
hot dog stand, apparently out of reach...but not for Super Mario! I mean, Plane 
Mode. Return to the roof of the juice bar and use the springboard to get to a 
Plane panel on top of the Rawk Hawk poster. It's a little tricky, but you can 
use it to reach the roof of Mr. Hoggle's stand. When you examine the egg, 
you're given a choice of what to do with it. (Unfortunately, choosing the 
second option doesn't change anything. No eggy hot dogs for you.) After this, 
the egg follows you as a second partner. Whoop-de-fudgin'-doo.

Anyway, return to the Glitz Pit. When you reach 13th place, King K. approaches 
you as usual. He says he's retiring! It sure will be lonely around here without 
him...

After you reach 11th place, Jolene leads a Swooper into the room. She's giving 
him the exact same initiation speech she did you; he must be starting his way 
up the ladder. After Jolene leaves, he introduces himself as Sir Swoop and 
leaves with the others to look around. If you want to see something slightly 
interesting, go around to the back of the hallway, to the locked door between 
Grubba's office and Rawk Hawk's room. Jolene is speaking with a secret service 
agent about some noises coming from the storage room. She acts pretty 
suspicious, especially when she notices you. There's something going on here, 
isn't there? Anyway, go and enter the fight for 10th place.

No matter what, this fight will always be against the Armored Harriers, AKA The 
Iron Adonis Twins, AKA the Iron Cleft Bros. When you enter the battle, you'll 
notice something strange indeed. These guys are invincible! Absolutely nothing, 
not attacks, items, or even Star Powers can piece their iron armor. Save 
yourself from getting wasted by running from the battle. (I bet you didn’t know 
you could do THAT)

After your cowardly exit, return to the locker room. The egg is gone! Suddenly, 
a small Yoshi walks up to you. He's hatched from his egg! Apparently, he could 
hear perfectly from in there and knows about your quest to get the Gold Star 
and become champion. On the bad side, he calls you the Great Gonzales. He 
decides to thank you for raising him as an egg by fighting alongside you using 
his...mouth? He's about to introduce himself, but he remembers he doesn't have 
a name yet. Time to name your Yoshi! In case you can't think of anything, here 
are a few suggestions:
Speedy (my Yoshi's name)
Yoshi (why not?)
Boshi
Roshi
Dude
TheGreat
Gonzales
Smakdown
Bowser
Tandy
Compy
Lappy
Bob III
Squawk
Herman
Ethel
Paris
Killer
Rocky
Rocky 2
Whee!
Again. Also, besides its name, your Yoshi's color can vary. Too bad for you if 
you got a pink. Vivian (not the partner) offers a guide to how to get each 
color; check it out.

Once you have the egg, and when you’re 11th on the chart, (Save) then go fight 
the iron clefts. In the match, run away on turn 1. 
Go back and see what colour your Yoshi is. 
Reset and fight the iron clefts again and wait the amount of minutes 
given(below) to change the colour.
 Colour you have:  
Green – wait 6 minutes then run away to get a red Yoshi 
Red – 3 mins to get blue 
Blue – 2 mins to get orange 
Orange – 4 mins to get pink 
Pink – 3 mins to get black 
Black – 1 min to get white 
White – 1 min to get green
 
So if you originally have a blue Yoshi, and you wanted a black, then wait 9 
mins in the battle. (If your still alive..)

Anyway, you now have a new partner!

>>>>>
YOSHI
<<<<<

Where would Mario be without his trusty Yoshi? In Paper Mario 2, he finally 
gets one of the little dinosaurs as a partner. This Yoshi is a newborn who 
hatches in chapter 3, but he's already hot-tempered and energetic. I'm calling 
him Yoshi, but you actually get to name him yourself after he hatches. Also, he 
insists on calling you by your Glitz Pit nickname, The Great Gonzales. Yoshi 
has some powerful battle abilities that mostly involve the shoulder buttons, 
and are good at hitting enemies multiple times. His field skill, obviously, is 
to let Mario ride him! (Which is amazing, considering Mario is twice his size) 
While riding Yoshi, Mario travels much faster, making travel easier. (He can't 
do anything except move around, though) If you hold A while moving, Yoshi does 
a flutter jump, which lets him cross wider horizontal gaps than Mario can. It 
has no vertical jumping power, however.

HP: 10/20/30

Ground Pound: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1/1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1/1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 damage to 
target non-spiked/fire enemy
Action Command: Mash R
Style Command: Hit A right after the meter disappears, right before Yoshi spins 
and ground pounds, hit A again right as he is bouncing back to the ground
This move is Yoshi’s basic attack. It deals great damage spread over many hits 
that decrease in power, making it useless against enemies with even low 
defense. It’s one of the strongest abilities in the game if you raise Yoshi’s 
attack power, though. (If you do, each successive hit does 1 less damage until 
they all do 1 again) The action command is one of the toughest to do; I’ve 
found that turning the controller so the side with the R button is closest to 
you. Hold it in your right hand and use your thumb to mash R. (You don’t have 
to press it all the way every time, just so that it clicks)

Gulp (4 FP): 4/5/6 defense-piercing damage to target, 4/5/6 defense piercing, 
non-alterable damage to ground enemy behind target
Action Command: Hold R and release it when the star lights up
Style Command: Press A right after Yoshi spits the target out
Gulp is Yoshi’s signature and most powerful attack. He can swallow almost any 
enemy (except huge ones) and spit them out, doing heavy damage both to the 
target and the next ground enemy behind it. Even better, the damage pierces 
defense, and is the only way to defeat the Armored Harriers! The only thing 
keeping this move down is its relatively high FP cost, but other than that, 
it’s a great move!

Super Ability-Mini-Egg (3 FP): 1 + 1 + 1/1 + 1 + 1 + 1 to random enemies, has a 
chance of shrinking anything hit
Action Command: Press A as the meter passes through each circle
Style Command: Hit A right after throwing last egg
Mini-Egg is another powerful attack move that can shrink enemies, reducing 
their attack power. It’s a very useful status effect, and the attack itself can 
be insanely deadly if you use Badges or something to boost Yoshi’s attack 
power, since every egg gets stronger. With 2 Power Plus P Badges at Ultra 
level, you can do 12 damage per attack!

Ultra Ability-Stampede (6 FP): 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 damage to all ground 
enemies
Action Command: Alternately hit L and R
Style Command: Press A immediately after Yoshi whistles
The powerful Stampede attack calls a herd of Yoshis to race across the field 
and trample every ground enemy for heavy damage. Koops' Power Shell is probably 
better, though, unless you can boost Yoshi's attack power. If you do, the first 
hit of Stampede is fully boosted, and each consecutive hit does 1 less damage, 
making the move much stronger.

In case you didn't read the description (bad reader! You account has been re-
re-deleted!! P|-|334 |\/|3!11!11!), it says that Yoshi's Gulp attack can defeat 
the Armored Harriers! How convenient! Re-sign up for the battle and get ready 
to kick some iron rear!

The tables have turned from your first fight; Yoshi's Gulp can do massive 
damage to both Iron Cleft brothers and finish them off in no time.

After you beat the Armored Harriers, you rise to 10th place and the major 
leagues! Jolene takes you to speak with Grubba about it. After he gives you 30 
coins, Jolene takes you to the major league locker room, which is a cleaner 
version of the minor-league one. Unfortunately, the fighters in here aren't 
quite as friendly as King K. and co. Suddenly, Rawk Hawk himself comes in to 
congratulate you on rising through the ranks so fast. As he's talking, your 
partner *BOOM* notices the Gold Star on the belt is fake! After Rawk Hawk 
leaves offended, he/she wonders where the star could be if not the belt. 
Luckily, you quickly get some answers. Someone calling himself X sends you a 
strange E-mail saying to follow his instructions to find the Star. After the 
cutscene, you can check in the left corner for an Ice Storm.

Now that you have a new partner *BOOM*, you may want to return to Rogueport and 
do a few sidequests. There are a few things around there you can now get.

ROGUEPORT

First, head to East Rogueport, to the waterway next to the Trouble Center. Now 
that you have Yoshi, you can cross it using his field skill. Once you're 
across, climb the creates to the roof of the eastmost building. Do a Spin Jump 
up here to find a Star Piece. Next, cross the gap between rooftops with Yoshi. 
There's a Shine Sprite in plain sight near the back of the area. Look behind 
the chimney of the house next to the Trouble Center for a Star Piece. If you 
want, go as far left across the rooftops as you can. There's a mysterious man 
under an umbrella on a ledge here: the Storyteller. For a small fee of 5 coins, 
he'll tell you many interesting stories from 1000 years ago, the time of the 
city behind the Thousand-Year Door. Once you've paid for a story, you can hear 
it any time for free. More become available as you progress through the game. 
Once you're done hearing the stories, return to the first rooftop and drop 
behind it by squeezing between some creates with Paper Mode. There's another 
Shine Sprite back here. Now, use Yoshi to return to the other side of the 
waterway and go to West Rogueport.

Slip through the grate here and enter Rogueport Sewers.

ROGUEPORT SEWERS

Using Yoshi's field skill, cross the gap to the left and get the Shine Sprite 
in plain sight, then enter the pipe which is also in plain sight. You enter the 
background; cross a few moving platforms to reach a Star Piece. Return to the 
foreground and then to Rogueport.

ROGUEPORT	

You'll probably want to promote a partner while you're here now that you have 
more Shine Sprites. I'd recommend Yoshi, since his attacks are so powerful. 
After that, return to the Glitz Pit.

GLITZVILLE

Continue to fight your way up the ladder. After claiming 8th place, you receive 
another E-mail from X telling you to go to the "watering hole." (He means the 
juice bar for those of you without slang) Talk to the manager to get a 
mysterious package he found containing...the Super Hammer!

As with the Super Boots, you're taken to a white void after getting the Hammer, 
where Toadette explains it. The Super Hammer increases your attack power with 
the Hammer and lets you perform a new attack that can strike enemies behind the 
one you hit. You also gain a new field move. You can hold B, then rotate the 
control stick after attacking to twist yourself and wind up for a powerful 
swing. Once you're fully twisted, release everything to use a powerful spin 
attack that has enough smashing power to destroy large yellow block. Now, where 
have you seen those things before? The room before the Thousand Year Door, and 
more recently, the minor-league locker room! After the manager compliments your 
new weapon, you get an E-mail telling you to smash the block.

Miraculously, the secret service agent guarding your former home strangely lets 
you in. Go to the left and use your new move to smash the giant yellow block. 
Enter the room behind it, climb some boxes, and use Yoshi to reach a Dubious 
Paper containing an article on the Crystal Stars on top of a shelf. As you 
leave the secret room, Jolene comes! She says you shouldn't be in the minor 
league locker room, and confiscates the paper you got! The plot thickens...

Try to conserve FP for the 7th-place team, because once you beat them, the 
Armored Harriers show up again! Have Yoshi show them his armor-killing power 
once again and send them off.

After you return to the major league locker room following this grudge match, 
you get another E-mail. Judging by the capitalization and threat, it isn't from 
X. Since it's telling you not to keep snooping around, it's time to put on your 
detective cap. (Just turn your plumber's cap inside-out or something)

Once you beat the #6 team, the Koopinator points out a slice of cake sitting on 
the pedestal in your locker room. A fan must have had Jolene bring it. 
(Finally, you have fans!) Make sure to save before advancing to 5th place.

After you defeat the 5th-place team, a familiar voice comes from the crowd. 
It's Bowser, and he's come for payback!

BOSS: BOWSER

Appearance: Oh, come on, I shouldn't have to tell you this...
HP: 30
Attack: 3
Defense: 1
Location: Glitzville
In a completely unexpected twist, Bowser shows up in Glitzville and challenges 
you to a rematch! Luckily, he's quite a bit weaker than he was in the previous 
game. Besides his basic claw attack, he has a poisonous bite, a stamp attack 
that disables Mario's jump, hammer, or items for a few turns, and hard-to-block 
fire breath. The bite and stamp attacks' effects can be preventing with 
blocking. For victory, have Mario use powerful attacks (Especially Power Smash, 
now that you have the Super Hammer) and use Yoshi's Gulp to piece defense. He 
isn't too hard...this time.

After you beat him, Bowser goes off disappointed. How pathetic... Anyway, 
continue fighting and defeat the 4th-place opponent. You get another E-mail 
from X telling you to go to the phone booth in Glitzville square.

In the back hallway, Rawk Hawk shows up and unsubtly hints that you shouldn't 
think about challenging him. Could he have written the threatening E-mail? 
Anyway, ignore him and go to the phone booth. You'll find the key to the 
storage room in it. Unsurprisingly, X next tells you to go to the storage room. 
(It's between Grubba's office and the champion's suite)

When you enter the storage room, Ms. Mowz is inside waiting for you! Your 
partner *BOOM* asks if she's the one making strange noises in the room. She 
denies it and leaves once again, not forgetting to kiss Mario as usual. After 
she leaves, X tells you to find the switch to trigger some stairs. Before doing 
so, Spin Jump in the middle of the room for a Star Piece. Unfortunately, the 
switch isn’t nearly as easy to find. You don't appear to be able to do anything 
else. What you DON'T know is that the metal on the block in the room is a slip 
cover! Have Flurrie blow moth sets of metal plating off to reveal normal 
blocks. A Charge P Badge is under the right-hand creates; the switch is under 
the left. Hit it to trigger some stairs leading to the second floor.

The door to the right is locked, so get the Shine Sprite and then onto the 
crates behind the stairs. Use Yoshi to cross the gap to more creates and smash 
the giant yellow block. This reveals a hole you can drop into, and a Heart Plus 
P Badge you can reach with Yoshi. After getting it, drop into the hole to enter 
a narrow space between floors.

In this crawlspace, go right, past the vent, and to a tiny hole right above 
Grubba's room. From here, you can listen to a conversation between him and 
Jolene. They seem to be talking about people trespassing in the storage room. 
What the big deal about it? There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious... 
Whatever is in there, it isn't the "most important thing" anyway. What could he 
mean? They then discuss the disappearance of King K. after Jolene retired 
him...what!? Apparently, he isn't even the first to disappear! Grubba asks 
Jolene a few other suspicious questions and sends her off. As your partner 
*BOOM* comments on the disappearances, Grubba hears you! Quick, make a random 
animal sound to get rid of his attention! (The last choice is especially 
hilarious; there must be "Burping Beetles" wherever Grubba comes from) After 
you've finished eavesdropping, go back and slip through the vent to return to 
the storage room.

Anyway, register for and win the fight for 3rd place. Mario gets another 
threatening E-mail. Whoever is sending them must know about the Crystal Star 
and missing fighters! As you're preparing for the 2nd place match, Jolene 
brings more cake in for you. Don't eat it this time! This cake is poisoned and 
will take your partners out of commission for the next battle! After you win, 
you see that someone else has stupidly eaten it. That was lucky.

Now, fight the Koopinator for first place! You're almost there! After winning, 
X tells you to remove the posters of yourself in the lobby. As hard as it is, 
you have to. Go to the second floor of the lobby and have Flurrie blow the 
posters down. Another Storage Key can be found behind one of them. X E-mails 
you yet again and states the obvious; you should next open the door in the 
storage room. (You need to get some spam filters for that Mailbox SP)

Anyway, go through the door and use Yoshi to reach a big yellow block. Smash 
it, as usual. It's King K. and Bandy Andy! They're hurt badly, and Bandy Andy 
says it happened when he was approaching the ring! What's going on!? Get the 
Star Piece in this area and leave.

Back in your locker room, register for the championship fight. Strangely 
enough, the secret service agent takes you to a dingy minor league locker room 
instead of the arena! This must be Rawk Hawk's doing! Back in the arena, Grubba 
is working the crowd up for the title match, apparently with no idea what's 
happening. He also reveals that you've advanced through the rankings even 
faster the Rawk Hawk did! Back in the locker room, your partner *BOOM* finds 
that the door is locked. This looks bad... People are starting to notice that 
you're late in the arena.

Time to escape. Look in the back-right corner for a poster of Peach. Those 
filthy minor-leaguers are stealing your girl! Get rid of the poster with 
Flurrie to reveal a door behind it! Looks like a poker room behind the secret 
door. Enter the other door; you emerge from a locker in a major-league room. 
Unfortunately, this room's door is also locked. Go to the right and enter the 
bathroom. Time to finally put your plumbing skills to use. Jump onto the toilet 
and use it like a pipe to reach the bathroom in your locker room. This room 
isn't locked; be sure to save, heal and change your Badges before entering the 
ring. It's time to face Rawk Hawk!