Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars/The first Star Piece

You're off on your own now, but don't feel overwhelmed. If you need to heal, you can always run back to Mario's Pad to rest and save. If you want to get a head start in the game, grind through the enemies around this area to level up.

The Hammer Bros.
When you get to the end of the path you'll reach two Hammer Bros. (it looks like one, but you'll end up fighting two). After the fight you'll receive a Hammer that Mario can equip; it is much more powerful than his regular fists.

The Mushroom Kingdom
Head up the stairs to the farthest point from the camera and to the right, into the Mushroom castle. Toad will greet you and usher you in. There's a secret Frog coin waiting for you here, and you can only get it at this moment, so don't mess up! As Toad walks along the path and up to the door, jump on his head right when he stops, then hop on top of the door. Jump in the middle there to uncover a hidden Frog coin.

Follow Toad down the hallway and speak with the council there. Mario will retell the story of Bowser's Castle and how the mysterious sword destroyed the bridge. As a result, the chancellor will tell Mario to save the Princess, and allow access to the treasures in the basement. Head out of the room and go through the door to the south east, then turn southwest where the toad lookalike is standing. Speak with him, then take the goodies from the three blocks (a Mushroom, a Flower point, and 10 coins).

Frogfucious's strange pupil
Head out of the Castle and a cutscene will take place showing an odd, fat looking man chasing a crocodile. Mallow, sent by Frogfucious on an errand, has had his one Frog coin stolen by Croco the thief. After being shamed, Mallow gives up and begins to cry. Rain starts falling, and control is given back to you.

Run down to Mallow and speak with him. When the woman comes over and talks to you, press to jump. Mallow will recognize you and ask you to help. Tell him you will and he'll join your party.

Head to the southeast and go into the shop there. Buy the armor for Mario and Mallow, and one of each pin (fight more monsters if you need coins). Walk down the stairs in the southeast to get to the basement. Jump on the mushroom guy's head there, then jump again to uncover a Flower Point.

When ready, head out of town to the southeast after Croco.

Bandit Way
The chase is on. You should be at least level 4 for the upcoming boss fight, so prepare yourself. By the time you get to the final section of Bandit Way, you should make sure you're at an adequate level, with items to replenish your health and FP, and with full health (saving wouldn't be a bad idea either). There's a save point in the southwest corner of the first section of Bandit Way.

Hop for coins
In the second section, use the red flower to reach the earthen platform, then run to the right and hop on the yellow block. Jump on the right one and the one on the left will rotate around. Jump straight up and down and you'll see the block rotate again. If you jump on the other block, the other will rotate around it. Use this mechanic to move the blocks to the right so you can continue east.

On the other side of the second raised earthen platform, hop on the red flower. Jump off of it when facing directly east towards the purple-blue flower to get a KerokerCola before heading northeast to the next section.

And we're off!
Croco will see you and take off running. Make your way to the northwest corner (just follow the left side of the path at each corner). The only thing of interest in this section is the mushroom at the northeast. At the final fork (there's a spiny on the left), take the right path and you'll see a dog standing under a chest. When the dog backs up a little, you can jump over the area to safely get the chest without getting into a fight (unless you want to).

Head to the northwest to continue the chase.

Starman: free experience
As you enter you'll see Croco on top of a yellow block, trying to get it to rotate around so he can get close enough to grab the chest. He'll look at you, then take off running. The chest contains a Starman, which will turn you invincible. While the star power lasts, you can't get into fights, but if you touch an enemy, you'll instantly kill the group of monsters and gain some experience. After you grab the chest, run around and kill all the dogs on the screen. More will appear, so continue to run into them until the juice runs out.

Go back and ride the blocks to the right side to grab the other chest, which contains a ??. Head out to the southeast to prepare for the boss.

Boss: Croco
Before you go rushing into battle, scour the area for chests. There's one right in front of you. You might want to level up a bit, purchase some equipment back in town, or go and make sure you have full health and have saved before continuing (this guy hits hard). Mario should definitely have Fire Orb (his second special attack, gained at level 3) for this fight. You should also use any Flower Tabs or Flower Pots in your inventory if you haven't already: these increase your maximum Flower Points and will allow you to dish out more damage and healing during the fight.

When you're ready to battle, chase down Croco and sneak up behind him four times. Eventually Mario and Mallow will surround him and he'll stand his ground.

Fight
Croco is a nasty opponent at this point in the game. He only has two moves: bite, or pull an item out of his bag. If he bites you, you'll take minimal damage. If he pulls something out of his bag, either one of your characters will take serious damage (9-15), or he will heal himself for 60. Luckily, he can only hurt one teammate at a time, so the other will always be able to use a pick me up if need be.

Try save your Flower Points for Mario's Fire Orb (it deals extra damage and stuns the Crocodile for a turn), and let Mallow use Mushrooms to heal the team. Mallow is pretty much worthless in this fight; his Lightning bolt only deals as much damage as a well timed hit from Mario's Hammer, and his punches only deal about 5-10 damage. Croco has about 360 health, so try to use Fire Orb as many times as you can, as quickly as you can (you can break 100 damage with that technique).

Victory
Mallow will charge Croco and give him a good punch, sending the Frog coin flying over to Mario, by way of Mallow's head. Croco will take off after jumping around and throwing some more insults. You'll get 8 experience, 10 coins, a Flower Tab, and Croco's Wallet. Mallow wants you to return to the Mushroom Kingdom shop, and after conversing, a giant spring will fall from the sky. Hop on it to instantly return to the save point at the first section of Bandit's Way. Exit to the northwest to get to what you would hope would be safety.

Shyster invasion
As you return to town, you'll notice the spooky music and the dark atmosphere. The town's citizens are being attacked and pushed around by Shysters. Kill them to get rewards from the different people (the first guy gives you 10 coins, the one in the bottom left will give you a Flower Tab if you return his Wallet, and the family in the northwest house will give you a Flower Tab if you clear out the three mobs inside).