He knows about timed hits! Let's play Super Mario RPG!

He’s even nice enough to leave us a bomb so that we can proceed.



Combine the coins we had with the coins we won from Croco and you’ll see that we’ve maxed coins for the first (but certainly not the last) time.

Note also that we’re up to 50 FP – we’re halfway home on that front.



With Croco taken care of, we rush back to where Pa’ Mole is waiting and present him with the bomb. He helpfully sets it off for us, opening a path further into the mine.



Pa’ Mole offers to go with, but we politely decline.



In the next room, if you follow the minecart tracks, you’ll run into a Shy Guy piloting a mine cart. This pushes us back into the previous room and blocks off the lower passage, but we get a Frog Coin for our troubles.

On the upper path, we find a star. We grab it and go nuts, clearing out three whole rooms of enemies before our invincibility runs out.



The resulting experience gets Mario and Mallow up to level 9.



We end up in this room. This treasure chest contains 100 coins, but we’re already maxed out, so we mise well pass it up.



The Enigma’s Echofinder spell can silence unprotected characters. It’s always struck me as a little odd that this game uses silence as a status effect… It’s clearly a holdover from the older fantasy RPGs, but Mario RPG clearly doesn’t use the old “speak words of power” trope.



After crushing some Bob-Ombs in the next room, Geno rises to level 9 as well. Level 9 is a nice solid level for taking on the boss of this area, so we equip our Fearless Pins and move onwards…

…but not before leaping from some crates to grab a chest.



Well, there’s our Star Piece. And our boss, apparently… Punchinello seems content to toss around bombs and ignore us, but the game won’t let us rig up a rudimentary pulley system to haul down the Star, so I suppose we’ll have to throw down.



Punchinello isn’t a Smithy Gang member, nor is he an arc villain like Croco, Booster, or Johnny Jones. He seems to have no interest in the Star and just wants to fight us for kicks.



Mallow isn’t impressed.



I played this game dozens of times before it was pointed out to me that Punchinello is actually a parody of “giant space flea”-type bosses that come out of nowhere and don’t play any role in the plot. None of the party members recognize him, and he thinks that beating us is his ticket to fame and fortune, but he’s just a speed bump.

Punchinello’s gimmick is that he tosses out wave after wave of bombs to attack us. Every guide I’ve ever read recommends attacking these bombs with Thunderbolt, but I have to say I don’t see the point. The bombs, even at the largest size, don’t deal that much damage, and the biggest two sizes require more than one blast of Thunderbolt to finish off. On top of that, Punchinello instantly calls more when they’re all dead. Ignore the bombs and focus regular attacks on Punchinello himself until he goes down.



After some of his HP is depleted, Punchinello destroys all outstanding bombs and begins summoning larger ones.



And again, when he’s near death.



Punchinello has only his weak regular attack and the Sand Storm spells as attacks of his own. Sand Storm scares all unprotected characters, and is a devastating attack if you’re susceptible to fear. Thankfully, though, we’re suited up in Fearless Pins.

After bringing down Punchinello for good, he begins ranting.



Mallow still isn’t impressed.



Punchinello seems hesitant to bring out his biggest gun.



Mario and Geno begin taunting Punchinello…



…Who finally loses it, and vows to end us for good.

After a false start, Punchinello finally summons the King Bomb… but his aim is a little off, and it squashes him flat.



Thank you once again, Captain Obvious.



The team tries to come up with a plan, but before they can act…



The bomb is triggered, and it goes off!

(Note also that Punchinello didn’t even give us any experience or other spoils. He truly is the essence of filler.)



The King Bomb is surprisingly ineffective, as our heroes emerge covered in soot but otherwise no worse for the wear.

Geno still has his eyes on the prize, though.



The Star Piece finally drops.



The Star Piece is nice enough to give us a good scrubbing…



…Before we shove it into hammerspace with the others.

Mission accomplished, we proceed into the next room…



Where Dyna, the kid we’ve been searching for this whole time, is waiting with our ticket out of this dump: A minecart.

The minecart escape is divided into four segments: Two behind-the-shoulder Mode 7 sections that features Mario negotiating the rails, and two 2-D autoscrolling sections. Mario can jump off the track to collect mushrooms, which allow him a brief speed boost.



The cart turns automatically most of the time, but on tight turns like this you have to hit the brakes in order to avoid wiping out. Wiping out doesn’t actually do anything except make the section last longer, but it’s still annoying.



The 2-D sections are pretty easy. There are multiple levels, as well as coins and mushrooms to collect, but we hardly need either — I usually just blaze through the 2-D segments by spamming the mushrooms collected during the Mode 7 segments. In fact, since there are few straightaways long enough to use mushrooms on during the Mode 7 segments, this is basically the only use of mushrooms.



There’s one big shortcut on the track, seen (barely) here. During the third segment, keep an eye out for a left turn on the horizon. This allows you to cut out a big section of the track.



Eventually we emerge into the open air for the last section. We continue to spam mushrooms…

…Until we run out of track.



Back in Moleville, Ma’ and Pa’ Mole are awaiting Mario’s return.



Ah, irony.



This is the second time in the game that Mario has entered a building through the roof.



Yeah, but you didn’t get robbed and blown up.

The cheap-o moles don’t give us anything for saving them, but at least we got a Star Piece out of it.



Somehow I think we’ll find out shortly!




Outside, Mario finds himself in the middle of a bug hunt.



I think it goes without saying that Snifit #3 is by far the coolest of the Snifits.

I’m sure you — wait, princess from where?



Help yourself.



The beetle seems to know what’s good for it, though, and takes off.



Now that normalcy has returned to Moleville, a few new shops and minigames have become available. First is the point swap shop, which allows you to trade in your items for points, then trade in those points for a Bomb: Fright, Fire, or Ice. Bombs are great and all, but they’re prohibitively expensive when acquired this way, so this place is more of a curiosity than anything.



One of the mole women tried to dig her way to Dyna and Mite during the crisis, and the tunnel she burrowed conveniently drops right to the beginning of the minecart course. Her husband has turned it into a tourist attraction, and is offering 30 coins to anyone who can beat the best time. It costs ten coins to play, however, so this is among the least efficient ways to make money. The only point to this place is if you get the urge to do the minecart event again.

The treasure hunter from the mine has evidently struck it rich, and has opened a companion shop to the main store. He sells a few unique items, with his inventory expanding as you proceed through the game. He doesn’t sell anything particularly interesting yet (unless you’re doing a low-level run), but we’ll be back here much later.



The “pur-tend store” is offering Shiny Stones for Fireworks. I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, but…



A guy in a nearby house is selling Fireworks for a whopping 500 coins. The Fireworks are actually the beginning of a fairly lengthy trading chain… File this under “M” for “much later”.



Finally, the innkeeper informs us that Toadofsky has been spotted skulking around, looking for more tunes to copy. And you know what that means…



Our buddy at Tadpole Pond confirms that Toadofsky is indeed nearby, and that he’s looking for the Moleville Miners’ Song. (The Miners in question will sing it for you if you seek them out in the Coal Mines.)

Wii Play Music…



And swap out our Alto Card for the superior Tenor.



The Tenor Card reduces the prices for all of the Juice Bar’s previous items, and unlocks a new one: Megalixirs, which restore 150 HP to all. By the time our characters’ HP reaches that stratosphere, however, we’ll have access to unlimited Kerokero Colas…

So. This Booster fellow sounds reasonable enough. We shouldn’t have any trouble negotiating for the Princess’s release. Let’s go call on him, shall we? …Next time, on Let’s Play Super Mario RPG.

Next time: And my name’s Booster

I used to assume that Punchinello WAS a part of Smithy's gang, since he's a weapon like the others (Knife, Bomb, Spear, Axe, Sword). But, as he's the only one that can't be actually made my a blacksmith (and since he doesn't show up in the Factory like the others), you are clearly right.

The Mamon Mine in Dragon Quest IV totally reminded me of Moleville (even though the former came first, obviously).


At least in the localization they made his name a theater reference.

He also doesn't have the "Fight Against an Armed Boss" music that all the Smithy Gang members have.

Punchinello was actually my favorite boss in the game. I really liked how the fight ended.

Also, the music for the mine cart ride is wondeful! It still cannot compete with Booster Tower though.

When I was a kid I thought that Booster was the height of humor.

I never realized that Punchinello wasn't one of the Smithy weapons. MIND = BLOWN.

Well he is.

I had this problem too, which made Final Fantasy IV a considerably difficult game.

Yeah, me too. I played FF4 like it was an action game. At least ATB made that a somewhat plausible approach to the game. Getting to the end was a bit of a rude awakening.

I actually got to the moon before everything just started destroying me.

It's strange because I distinctly remember playing and finishing Final Fantasy VI before playing Final Fantasy IV. Then again, running away from battles is far easier in IV than VI. I think VI was the only game to use the "one runaway at a time" shit, and I'm glad for that (did a Brainpan cast Stop on the last remaining member? Sucks to be you).

Getting back to Mario RPG, the game's really not my favourite RPG gameplay-wise, but it was definitely one of Woolsey's best examples of localisation. Final Fantasy VII wasn't far behind and boy were we all in for a ride down the Kawaii Fun Happy Slide.

I am excited for Booster times.

Last time here at Let’s Play Super Mario RPG, we saved Moleville and got a lead as to the whereabouts of the Princess. Our next stop is the domains of Booster.



To get to Booster Tower, we first have to travel through Booster Pass.



Booster Pass is one of the smallest, most boring areas in the game: Only two “rooms”. Sure, there a few things hidden here…



Hidden treasure chest count: 15/39

…Like this hidden treasure chest…



But mostly it’s just rocks, and a Lakitu spitting out Spikey repaints known as Spikesters.



The nightmare-inducing Carroboscis enemies also appear around here with some regularity. They’re mostly harmless, but their freaky grins sent a shiver down eight-year-old Tanto’s spine.

These bush-like enemies called Artichokes disguise themselves as normal overworld bushes in this area. They’re powerful and durable, but are extremely weak to jump, so we let Mario take them. Since they don’t move at all, they’re also good enemies to practice your Super Jump timing on.

They also drop Fright Bombs. I actually picked up two in this area; I have no idea what I’m going to use them against. Jonathan Jones, maybe.



Hidden treasure chest count: 16/39

There’s also a second hidden treasure chest in this area, containing Rock Candy. Rock Candies are a one-use item that deal 200 (300 if Geno Boosted) damage to every enemy on the field, making them extremely valuable against some of the tougher bosses.



Unlike in the other areas where Lakitus appear, here you can jump off the cliffs to attack them directly. There’s not much point to doing this, but, um, hey.



In the second area, you can find a rare overworld flower by examining the bottom level.



Also in the bottom level is a hidden device which fills in all the pits in this area, killing the Spikesters for us and making for an easy stroll to the exit.

On to Booster Tower!



Outside the Tower, we find that Bowser has beaten us to it. He’s not here to fight, though. He’s here… to angst.



Bowser dreams of simpler times, two-dimensional times. Times when he could grab a Princess and hide in a castle, waiting for his nemesis to come for him. Those days are long gone, however.

Bowser breaks off his brooding when he realizes he has an audience:



His resolve thus strengthened, Bowser tries again:



Conveniently…

How about that? Looks like the rumors were true.



The Princess calls down the Tower for Mario to get on with the rescue, tout suite.



Yeah, right. You’re not fooling anybody, big guy.



Bowser takes off long enough for us to examine the door. It’s locked, though, and no key appears to be forthcoming.



Bowser immediately rushes back once he senses an opportunity to make fun of us.

Who needs a key when you’ve got a spiky, lava-hardened shell to fall back on?



Bowser takes a moment to toot his own horn, and seems to come to a conclusion…



I’ve always liked this little gag. Bowser isn’t joining our party; we’re joining his. And it’s not just a throwaway gag, either; Bowser tries to get Mario to honor his obligations later in the game.

Bowser is a pretty typical brute force guy; his magic sucks, but he’s got a strong regular attack and the best defenses in the game.



Now that we’ve got more than three characters, we gain access to switch in the ones we like on this screen. Mario always has to be in the party, though.

Meet the best party in the game, incidentally. The addition of Bowser to our group allows us to hold back Mallow (and, eventually, the Princess) for only the battles in which they’re most helpful. Mario, Geno, and Bowser is the best party for dealing with random fights, as well as most bosses.

If you’re expecting an in-depth technical explanation as to why this is the best party in the game, you’re going to be disappointed. My favorite strategy for dealing with enemies in this game is Geno magic backed up by regular attacks, and Mario, Geno, and Bowser have the best ones. Mallow and the Princess are specialty characters, useful only against certain bosses (for hitting elemental weaknesses and healing, respectively); Mario/Geno/Bowser is the most generally useful team.

Onwards.



Booster Tower is one of the longer and more interesting dungeons in the game. It’s even got a receptionist, presumably to get visitors to sign the waiver.

He’ll also challenge you if you talk to him, though.



This is one of my favorite bits in the game. You’ve got these two Spookums having a nice little conversation over here, and if you attack one…



The other, realizing that he’s got a psychopathic plumber in his midst, rushes to the corner and hides, shaking. I love this game.



Before proceeding, take a moment to admire the portraits of Booster’s ancestors on the wall there. There’ll be a quiz later. (No, seriously.)



Hidden treasure chest count: 17/39

After climbing a short staircase we find a hidden treasure chest amidst the unending wave of Spookums. If you’ve got a turbo controller (or a heavy book) and some Trueform Pins you can level up endlessly here (the automatic HP restoration you get when you level up should be enough to keep you going). That’s too cheesy for me, though, so I simply dodge the Spookums on my way to the next room.

Wherein, the man of the hour makes his entrance…



…On a toy train.



Booster welcomes visitors normally, but he’s got other things on his mind at the moment. Namely, the Princess.



He invites us to find the top if we can, and bails. The real Booster Tower music (“And My Name’s Booster”) starts up at this point.



Ah, the lowly Rob-Omb. This has to be the shortest “original enemy to underground monkey” transition in the history of video games: One dungeon. Rob-Ombs are weaker and less durable than their older counterparts, but they always blow if you let them survive into their turn.

He’s also the only minor enemy to star in his own Mario World romhack, as near as I can tell.