Number 3: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
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What is Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door?Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the second installment in the Paper Mario series, with the first being Paper Mario. It was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2004. Its plot revolves around Mario, who embarks on a mission to collect the seven Crystal Stars in order to open the Thousand-Year Door. After learning that Princess Peach has been kidnapped, he also sets out on a mission to rescue her from the X-Nauts. The game has intermissions between each chapter, in which the player assumes the role of Bowser, as well as Peach, who have their own stories that complement the main plot.
PlotThe adventure begins when Princess Peach goes on a cruise to Rogueport where she meets a hooded woman, and buys a box which contains a map, which the princess sends to Mario, along with a letter asking him to help her search for the map's treasure. Soon after that, she is kidnapped by Sir Grodus. Mario receives the letter with the map and decides to help her, and thus boards a ship to Rogueport.
Shortly after Mario reaches Rogueport, he finds Lord Crump attempting to interrogate Goombella about the Crystal Stars. Mario intervenes and Lord Crump tries to defeat him. After defeating the X-Naut general and escaping from the X-Nauts, Goombella introduces herself, and Mario explains his quest to her. As Goombella is also searching for the map's treasure, she decides to join Mario. Then, Goombella suggests to go to Professor Frankly's house, to consult him and show him the map. At the professor's house, Frankly explains that the map is related to the legend of the treasure of the Thousand-Year Door, and that, to obtain the treasure, one must first open the door with the seven Crystal Stars. Said objects can be found by holding the Magical Map before the Thousand-Year Door, which is located in the town's sewers. So, Mario holds the map before the Thousand-Year Door, revealing the location of the first Crystal Star.
Mario and Goombella show the updated map to Professor Frankly, who reveals that the first Crystal Star is in Petal Meadows. To reach this place, they must find a pipe in Rogueport Sewers. After finding it, Mario and Goombella arrive to Petal Meadows, where they see Hooktail and her castle. The duo stops at a nearby village called Petalburg and discover from the mayor that the dragon Hooktail has been terrorizing the village. The mayor tells them that Hooktail guards the Crystal Star in her castle, and that to access it, they must find the two stone keys in Shhwonk Fortress. After finding them, Mario and Goombella march to Hooktail's castle, with Koops in tow (who wants to defeat Hooktail to avenge his dead father and become stronger). After navigating through the castle's traps with the help of Koops, they encounter the dragon and defeat her, allowing Koops's father to get out of the dragon's gut and present Mario with the Diamond Star.
Somewhere else, it is revealed that Princess Peach was abducted by the X-Nauts. When a X-Naut tells Sir Grodus someone got the first Crystal Star, Peach accidentally blurts out Mario's name. Grodus hears this and orders the Shadow Sirens to steal the map in Mario's possession. Peach soon meets TEC-XX, who develops an interest in Peach's concept of love, and asks for her help to understand it. Peach agrees; in exchange, TEC lets her send e-mails to Mario. During another scene transition, at Bowser's Castle, Kammy Koopa tells Bowser about Mario's quest to find the Crystal Stars and Peach's abduction, things that motivate Bowser to hunt for the Crystal Stars and kidnap Peach back. He and Kammy head for Rogueport.
Back in Petalburg, the group receives an e-mail from Peach, who tells them she has been kidnapped. Mario and co. head back to the Thousand-Year Door and reveal the location of the next star.
The second Crystal Star is revealed to be in The Great Tree, home of small creatures known as Punies, deep inside Boggly Woods. When searching for the pipe leading to Boggly Woods in Rogueport Sewers, Mario and his partners encounter Punio, who tells them that the X-Nauts have invaded the Great Tree, capturing most of the Punies and that the Jabbies, the Punies' enemies, have allied with the X-Nauts and are trying to expulse the Punies from the Great Tree. Mario and co. decide to help out the Punies, and therefore Punio leads the group to the Boggly Woods. After getting there, Mario and co. encounter the Shadow Sirens with a necklace, who do not recognize him due to having lost a sketch of him. The group continues and arrives to the Great Tree. However, they realize that the tree is locked. Punio suggests they find Madame Flurrie; to find the secret entrance. However, upon reaching her home, Flurrie reveals she has lost her necklace and doesn't want anyone to see her without it. After defeating the Sirens and returning the necklace to Flurrie, she joins them in their quest. The group finds the secret entrance and enters the tree; after freeing the locked Punies with the aid of a special orb and after solving the Great Tree's puzzles and defeating the Jabbies, they get the second star at the bottom of the tree. There, Lord Crump snatches it, and activates a time bomb to blow up the tree. After chasing him to the entrance, he stops the bomb and uses Magnus Von Grapple to fight the heroes, but he is defeated by the group. Afterwards, the X-Nauts evacuate the tree and Mario and co. obtain the Emerald Star.
At the X-Naut headquarters, the X-Nauts inform Sir Grodus that Mario has taken the Emerald Star. Meanwhile, TEC-XX calls for the Princess, and asks her to dance with him. TEC then lets Peach e-mail Mario.
Bowser can be seen arriving in Petalburg, and then talking to what he thinks is Peach, but is revealed to be a poster by a nearby Koopa.
As Mario and his team move on, they receive another e-mail from Peach, who tells them that the X-Nauts are searching for the Crystal Stars. Mario and his team reveal the location of the next Crystal Star, and they visit the Prof. for details.
The third Crystal Star appears on a large arena in a floating town. To reach Glitzville, Mario and the gang must visit Don Pianta. He offers them the ticket they need after doing him a favor. Once Mario and his team arrive in Glitzville, they enter the Glitz Pit, a popular place in which fighters brawl everyday, and spot the Crystal Star on the Champ's Belt, held by Rawk Hawk, the current champion of the Pit. They sign up in the Pit, battle through the ranks, and eventually gain a newborn Yoshi as a partner. Soon, a mysterious figure known only as "X" starts sending cryptic e-mails to Mario. The e-mails lead Mario and his partners to discover that the Star on the belt is a fake, and that the real Crystal Star is being used by Grubba, the promoter of the Glitz Pit. Mario & co. expose his wrongdoings and chase him into the arena, where he transforms into Macho Grubba in order to eliminate Mario and his friends. However, the group manages to defeat him. After the battle, Jolene, Grubba's assistant, appears and reveals herself as the mysterious X, explains her story, and gives Mario the Gold Star.
At the X-Naut base, TEC-XX asks Peach to go ask Grodus a question relating to his plans. The Princess goes undercover in an X-Naut disguise and learns that Grodus is plotting to use the Crystal Stars to take over the world. TEC allows her to send this message to Mario. Meanwhile, Bowser and Kammy are searching for one of the Crystal Stars in the Great Tree, where they discover that Mario has already got the Crystal Star.
Mario & co. receive another message from Peach; they promptly reveal the fourth crystal star's location.
Prof. Frankly tells the group that the Crystal Star is located in the Creepy Steeple, near a small town named Twilight Town. When Mario & co. get to Twilight Town, they discover that the village is under a curse cast by a monster who lives in the steeple. Using a new Black Chest Demon power, the group reaches the steeple, and battles the monster. During the battle, the monster uses an ability to steal Mario's name and body, transforming Mario into a shadowy version of himself. Mario's partners claim the Crystal Star and leave with whom they think is Mario. Meanwhile, the Shadow Sirens are in Twilight Town, planning on defeating Mario and his partners with their new weapon: the Superbombomb. However, Beldam seems to have lost it, prompting her to blame Vivian and to force her to search for it. The real Mario returns to Twilight Town, and helps Vivian with her problem. Out of gratitude, she joins Mario's party. They eventually discover that the monster's name is Doopliss; after telling Doopliss his name, he is weakened and flees to Creepy Steeple. Mario and Vivian chase him there and they fight once more. Mario and his new partner defeat Doopliss, allowing Mario to regain his name and body and to reclaim the Ruby Star.
At the X-Naut base, TEC-XX asks the Princess to participate in a sort of "quiz show" with him. By doing this, she discovers what the "treasure" of the Thousand-Year Door really is: the "treasure" is actually an ancient demon. The Princess then sends these news to Mario. Meanwhile, Bowser continues his quest for Crystal Stars by flying up to Glitzville in his Koopa Clown Car. However, it malfunctions halfway there, and he travels underwater to return to Rogueport. After he and Kammy return, he orders Kammy to continue her research on the Crystal Stars.
Back in Twilight Town, Mario and his friends receive the message from Peach. They reveal the next Crystal Star and visit Prof. Frankly for details.
The English name for the chapter, as well as its Spanish, Italian, and French translations, are referencing the Ernest Hemingway novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The fifth Crystal Star is located deep within a pirate's lair on the southern island of Keelhaul Key. To reach the island, with the help of Flavio and Admiral Bobbery, they sail to the island with some Toads and Lord Crump in disguise (known as "Four-Eyes"). On their way to the island, Mario and co. are attacked by Cortez's Embers, which shipwrecks them on Keelhaul Key. Later on, some of the crew members are attacked by more Embers, and Bobbery sacrifices himself to save them. Bobbery says he is close to death, and after giving him his last request, they found out that he was just asleep; after Mario wakes him, he joins Mario's party. With the aid of Bobbery and Flavio's Skull Gem, Mario and co. enter Pirate's Grotto. After solving some puzzles, and after gaining another ability from a Black Chest Demon, they finally reach the lair of Cortez. After a battle, Cortez gives Mario his Sapphire Star. Afterwards, Lord Crump abandons his disguise and tells Mario that he will continue attacking him with his ship's cannons, until he hands over the Crystal Star. With the help of Cortez's ship and Flavio's Skull Gem, they defeat the invading X-Nauts, along with their leader.
In the X-Naut base, TEC-XX wishes to gain access to a disk at Grodus's room, and asks Peach to help him. After making an invisibility potion, she helps him and he promises to analyze the data. Peach then sends another e-mail to Mario, informing him of this. Meanwhile, in Twilight Town, Bowser and Kammy Koopa run into Lord Crump. The three get into an argument, which escalates to an armed confrontation between the Koopa Troop and the X-Nauts. However, Bowser inadvertently ignites the Superbombomb, knocking out both armies.
Back at Keelhaul Key, Cortez ferries Mario and his teammates to Rogueport. Mario gets the e-mail from Peach, telling them about what TEC is analyzing. Mario and his team then reveal the next Crystal Star's location, and visit Prof. Frankly for information.
The sixth Crystal Star is in the Poshley Sanctum of the town Poshley Heights. The only way to reach the town is on the famous Excess Express. After doing Don Pianta another favor, he gives Mario the train ticket.
On the first day at the Excess Express, Mario and his team found many mysterious happenings, including thefts of items and messages threatening to blow up the train. On their second day of travel, Pennington, a Bumpty detective, helps Mario and his friends to solve the crimes and they manage to capture a fake Zip Toad who was really Doopliss in disguise, and was the one who attempted to halt the train by causing an explosion with some stolen items. At sundown, when the train stops at Riverside Station for refuel, Doopliss escapes capture. Mario and company find that the drawbridge has been lifted, preventing the Excess Express from continuing its route. The gang enters Riverside Station and flips the switch to bring the drawbridge back down. They discover that a group of Smorgs are behind it. On the third and final day of the journey, a stowaway Smorg monster attacks the train, kidnapping all of its passengers. Mario and his friends defeat the creature, rescuing the passengers in the process, and finally reach Poshley Heights. They venture into Poshley Sanctum, a museum that happens to belong to Pennington. The Shadow Sirens happen to be already inside, and snatch what appears to be the Garnet Star and run away. However, Pennington reveals that what they stole was a fake, and lets Mario find where the real Crystal Star is. After some exploring, Mario and company manage to find the real Garnet Star.
Back at the X-Naut base, the X-Nauts tell Grodus that Mario has six of the seven Crystal Stars. They also tell him of TEC's betrayal. Meanwhile, TEC tells the Princess the data he gained from Grodus's data disk, and prepares to help Peach escape. Before he is able to, Grodus enters with two X-Nauts and orders them to initiate the data-wipe procedure. TEC tells Peach "I love you" just before he is shut down.
Meanwhile, Bowser is searching for another Crystal Star in Rawk Hawk's workout room, which he has found in the form of the Champ's Belt. However, he quickly learns that it is not a real Crystal Star, just a glass fake.
Mario and his team return to Rogueport and receive an e-mail from Peach, telling about what the X-Nauts plan to do with her, but an important part of it is cut off due to TEC being shut down. Back in Rogueport, Mario and co. reveal the next Crystal Star's location and visit Prof. Frankly for details.
The last Crystal Star appears to be on the Moon. To reach the Moon, Mario and his companions travel to Fahr Outpost to find a cannon to shoot to the Moon. After searching for Goldbob and General White, whose blessings are needed to operate the cannon, Mario & co. enter the cannon and are shot to the Moon.
On the Moon, the group discovers the X-Naut Fortress. Once they arrive at the end of it, Lord Crump appears, bragging about his latest creation — Magnus Von Grapple 2.0, and tries once more to defeat Mario and company. After Lord Crump is defeated, the Crystal Star is released.
Meanwhile, Bowser is searching for another Crystal Star in the Poshley Sanctum. A Paragoomba flies in and tells Bowser that Mario has collected every Crystal Star and is heading for the Thousand-Year Door, which contains a great treasure. Bowser announces that he will steal this treasure and defeat Mario.
As Mario and his allies prepare to leave the fortress, they discover that all of the doors have been locked, except for one. In this room, the heroes find TEC, who is running on backup power. He recognizes Mario and tells him to rescue the Princess, who has been taken to the Palace of Shadow, a place that lies beyond the Thousand-Year Door. He then activates an emergency transporter. The group is transported to a room in Rogueport Sewers. After exiting the room, Prof. Frankly meets them at the entrance and urges them to open the Thousand-Year Door.
After Mario has received all seven Crystal Stars, the time has come to open the Thousand-Year Door and enter the Palace of Shadow to rescue Princess Peach from Grodus.
Mario and his friends open the Thousand-Year Door with the seven Crystal Stars, allowing them to enter the Palace of Shadow. The palace itself is full of enemies, puzzles, and traps. Eventually, Mario and co. battle and trounce the Shadow Sirens and a black dragon named Gloomtail, older brother of Hooktail. After the dragon's defeat, he relinquishes the key to access the Riddle Tower. After solving the puzzles of the tower, a secret passage is revealed, which lets Mario continue forward. Finally, Mario reaches the Throne Room of the palace, where he finds and defeats Sir Grodus. Bowser and Kammy, who drop in unexpectedly, also battle Mario, but are thwarted in the end. Grodus uses the distraction of the battle to bring the Princess into the deepest part of the palace. There, he opens a sealed coffin and frees the Shadow Queen, the ancient demon of legend. Beldam suddenly appears and announces that she was the one who orchestrated the plot to free her mistress. The Shadow Queen refuses to be controlled by Grodus, and fries him with a lightning bolt, supposedly killing him. The Queen then possesses Princess Peach, using her as a vessel to sustain her life. The world is then covered in darkness. Mario and his allies fight the Queen, but she eventually decides to fight in her real form, in which she is invincible. She proves too much for the group to handle, however, the Crystal Stars suddenly react to the evil of the Queen and fly throughout the world, each returning to where they were found, allowing the people of the world to cheer on Mario and his party. The hope of the people of the world break through the Queen's invulnerability, and this also allows Peach to give the heroes the last of her power. Strengthened, the heroes seal the Shadow Queen forever, saving the world.
Goombella later sends Mario a message, explaining what everyone has done: she works with Professor Frankly, while Koops plans on becoming the Mayor of Petalburg. Flurrie has returned to the stage and enacts "Paper Mario" as her comeback smash while Doopliss plays the role of Mario. The Yoshi Kid fights in the Glitz Pit as the "Great Gonzales Jr.", while Vivian has forgiven her sisters and lives in Twilight Town. Admiral Bobbery sails the seas with Cortez, and Ms. Mowz runs her Lovely Howz of Badges. Lord Crump, Grodus and the X-Nauts survived and are spending their time in Poshley Heights. TEC survived as well, and hopes to see the Princess again one day. The game ends when the Princess arrives with another treasure map.
Topic: Top 25 Video Games Lists v2.0: Cable's NES Nostalgia 15 & 2 (starts pg32) (Read 83924 times)