Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door/Chapter 6: 3 Days of Excess

Day 1: Errand Boy
Excess Express:

''Though Mario and his party expected the retrieval of the sixth crystal star to be relatively relaxing, the journey proves to be anything but. You’ll be surprised how much can happen on a three-day train ride.''

You’ll mostly be doing problem solving while on this train (along with a boss battle). Nothing much happens other than that, INSIDE the train.

Enemies: None

Watch the scene and get the shine sprite behind the table. Open the nightstand for a dried shroom and leave your cabin. Walk to the West End of the train and talk to the conductor (the toad at the far left in front of the door). Go east to the dining area and talk to the Penguin with the magnifying glass. Watch the scene and talk to Pennington again. Examine the stains on the floor and follow them to Cabin 003. Talk to the fat toad inside and check the nightstand for the pot, so return it to the chef (the cheep-cheep in the chef’s hat). You’ll get a star piece. Keep going left to Cabin 006. Talk to Pennington inside and he’ll name you his assistant detective. Leave the room and it will turn into the afternoon. Go down the hall to Cabin 008. Talk to the two Bob-ombs that are arguing and Bub (the small Bob-omb) will tell you what he wants for his birthday. Talk to him two more times for some clues. Leave and go to the conductor.

Go to the other end of the train and talk to the engineer. Bring the autograph to Bub and he’ll give you a shine sprite. Leave the room and it will turn into nighttime. Go back to Pennington’s room (Cabin 006) and he’ll give you your next assignment. Talk to the conductor at the rear of the train and go to Cabin 004. Uncover the underground Star Piece and use Vivian’s ability to pull you into the shadows. When the ghost appears, talk to him and say yes to his question. Go back to the conductor and talk to him - he'll move out of the way so you can search the storage area. Go through the door and slip through the two boxes to get the diary. Now, return the diary to the ghost in Cabin 004. If you are curious and want to read the diary, save first, because after you read it, the ghost will appear and instantly Game Over you. He will give you the blanket, so now return that to the conductor, and head to Pennington's room. Talk to him and head to the dining area. Talk to the waitress there, and she'll ask you to search for her Shell Earrings. You can't do much about that now, but keep it in mind as you go on. Then go to Cabin 002 and talk to Toodles, who will ask you if you could look for her Gold Ring, which you can't do anything about right now either. Finally, you can go back to your room (Cabin 005) and get some much needed rest for the next day of sleuthing.

Day 2: More Detective Work
When you wake up, go back to Pennington’s room for your next assignment. Go all the way to Cabin 001. Bring the contract to Pennington and go back to your room. Examine the paper on the floor and use Vivian to hide in the shadows. When Zip Toad appears, reemerge and chase him around the room. Watch the scene when you catch him. After returning the briefcase to the businessman, the train will make a stop at riverside station. Before leaving, return the items to their proper owners. Returning the ring & earrings will get you 30 coins and a star piece. Afterwards, leave the train through the door near the front of the train.

Delayed!
Riverside Station:

The train usually makes a brief stop here. It’s different this time since the bridge isn’t lowered. Guess who has to fix THAT?

Enemies:


 * Goomba - 2 HP, 1 ATK, 0 DEF
 * Poison Pokey - 8 HP, 4 ATK, 0 DEF
 * Ruff Puff - 7 HP, 4 ATK, 0 DEF
 * Spiky Parabuzzy - 5 HP, 3 ATK, 4 DEF

Go and talk to the conductor in front of the bridge and answer yes to retrieve the station key. Go up the stairs to the front door and save. Unlock the door and go through it. Once inside, go right past the elevator into the door. Roll under the small hole under the left gate. Hitting the switch will create some stairs for you to advance. Go back under the hole and go up the stairs. Go in the door and defeat the two Ruff Puffs inside. Go up the stairs and jump across the rotating gears. They each stop briefly, so study the timing first. When you pass them, roll under the large cylinder and jump on the gear next to it. When there’s a big enough opening, jump onto the next gear and then the gear after that. Use Koops’ shell to grab the key when the barrier in front of you rises. There's a star piece on the ground near the pillar the key was on.

Go back to the previous room with the locked door and unlock it. Go through and defeat the poison pokeys and roll under the small hole under the first set of steps. You’ll be able to get a HP Plus badge. Now roll back up the hidden passage you used to get to the badge and head to the right. You'll find an empty block on the ground - if you jump on top of it, there's an invisible block that has a Thunder Rage in it. Keep going, and make sure to grab the shine sprite as you head down the stairs. Head to what looks like a dead end, and have Flurrie blow off the papers to reveal a hidden door. Defeat the two spiky parabuzzies if you like, and roll through the small hole in the wall to the left. Go right at the fork and jump (Press A while in tube mode) over the gap that comes soon after. Fall through the hole and jump left over the other gap to get a P-Up, D-Down Badge. Jump over the gap again when you go back and turn around. Make sure that you fall into the left side of the hole. Follow the tunnel and you’ll find yourself in a Dumpster. Get the dried shroom if you want and head to the next room on your left.

Go into the left door and go into the next door to the left. Defeat the goombas in here and three switches will be revealed. Hit them with your hammer the number of times indicated on the switch (Ex: if one of them has a 3 on it, hit it with your hammer 3 times) and it will turn red. When all of them are red, some stairs will appear. Go to the top of them and use Koops to get the shine sprite near the top. Go into the door and open the big chest for the Ultra Boots. Now you can use the Spring Jump (make sure Mario jumps when you hold A) Use your new move at the end of the trail of the drops of water to grab a pipe on the ceiling.

Go to the right and jump off when you cant go any further. Turn into paper to slip through the grate. jump on to the boxes to the right and use Yoshi to cross the gap to the other stack of boxes. Use your Spring Jump to grab on the pipes above and shimmy left. Drop down and Spring Jump under the platform to knock down the Elevator Key. Get it and go out of the room with the elevator (use the pipes to get out of the cage). Go right off the ledge and fight the 3 Poison Pokeys. Use the spring to get back to the upper part of the room. Return to the elevator room at the entrance and go left to the badge on the ledge. Go to the elevator and use the key on the switch on the wall.

What the Heck?
Those are probably the first three words that come out of your mouth when you get out of the elevator. You won’t fight these guys – yet – so either whack them with your hammer a few times or use Flurrie to blow them away. They’ll eventually run away. Press A when near the lever to reveal the switch. Hit it and the bridge will be lowered. Press the button next to the elevator to go back up. Leave the station and go back on the train (you’ll get a chance to save and heal soon).

Excess Express:

Once back in your room, go out of it to save. Afterwards, sleep in your room, to advance to the next day.

Day 3: Train Battle
Go back to the engineer (the room in the far right) and watch the scene. Also, there’s an underground star piece near the machinery. Save before leaving and talk to the guy in the item shop if you want to buy something. After that, go into Cabin 008 and check the nightstand for a star piece. Go into the baggage room and have Flurrie blow the creatures away until the rest run off again. I suggest saving at the nearest save point because the next boss can be hard if you’re not careful. After saving, Go back to the baggage car and use your spring jump when you’re next to the wall in the background. Shimmy to the left and jump off when above the crate. Go into the door and use your hammer to bash your way to the front of the train.

Boss Battle
Smorg:

Goombella’s Tattle: ''That’s a Smorg. Lots of Smorgs gathered to create this huge monster. It attacks with weird tentacles. Defeating the tentacles will drop the body’s defense to 0, making it easier to attack. The tentacles will regenerate, but use that time to deal a ton of damage, OK? It may also take other forms with higher Attack powers, I don’t really know. Let’s just hurry and beat this thing so we can save those trapped passengers!"''


 * HP: 50 (Miasma’s HP: 4; Miasma Pincher’s HP: 6)
 * ATK: 5 (ATK is 10 when in Pincher form)
 * DEF: 1 (w/tentacles)
 * Attacks:
 * Miasma Slap
 * Miasma Pinch (only in Pincher form)

Oh, a tentacle monster. Typical coming from an originally Japanese game. Anyway, attack the tentacles (or Smorg Miasmas as the game calls them) first. Flurrie (and also Vivian’s Feiry Jinx, but it’s bettter if you save the FP for the main part) is very useful here. Once the tentacles are gone use your most powerful attacks on the main part. Each of the tentacles attacks once so guard well. Items can also work against the tentacles. When you beat the tentacles for a second time, start using special attacks because when they reappear they’ll turn into a giant pincher with a dangerously powerful attack. Use Power lift if you have any star points left and finish him off quickly.

After another scene, you’ll finally arrive at Poshley Heights. Leave the train when it ends.

An Easy Crystal Star
Poshley Heights:

Another peaceful town. There’s no danger here. Just try to find the crystal star before anyone else does.

Enemies: None

First, go left and get the star piece behind the blue fold-up chair. Go inside the nearby house. There’s a small crevice inside. It’s kind of hard to see, but it’s under the middle picture. Open the chest on the other side for a HP Drain P Badge. There’s also an underground star piece in the center of the area with the Ratooey salesman. On the right side of the screen by the table, there’s an opening in the hedge. Go through it (you don’t have to turn into paper) and go through until you get a star piece. Go back through and continue on to the next screen. Go behind the rose hedge near the part you entered to find another star piece. You can get some Fresh Pasta (can be used alone to make Spaghetti with Zess T.) from the nearby stand, but it will cost you 50 coins. There’s an Inn Coupon behind the upper right corner of the stand. You can use this coupon to sleep in the inn. When you wake up, they’ll have a special dish ready for you on the left table. When you’re ready, head on to the next screen. To the right of the sanctum is a shine sprite. Use your spring jump to get it. Afterwards, go up to the sanctum and inspect the letter on the door. After the scene, Pennington will let you inside.

Poshley Sanctum:

The Crystal star is in here, but where?

Enemies:


 * Dark Boo - 8 HP, 5 ATK, 0 DEF

Watch the scene inside and go up to the red star mark on the ground. Use your spring jump when standing on it and shimmy to the right when you grab the bar. Jump off when over the ledge and use your spring jump on the next mark. Shimmy to the right again and do the same thing until you reach the top. Go to the airplane panel and use it to fly to the other side. Spring jump on the next red star mark and shimmy to the left. Hit the blue switch and jump down to the ground. Go into the pipe and go into the door. Inside, there are several Dark Boos. They’re not hard compared to Smorg, so beat them all before continuing on (besides, anyone could use some star point then and now, right?). Now, there are some items here, so go to the red star mark on the ground and use your spring jump. Remember to keep shimmying to the right when on the bars until you use the airplane panel to fly to the other side. When you land, go down and get the shine sprite. Go up and use the red star mark to go up to the bar above. Shimmy left and drop down. Get the L Emblem badge (it’s required for a trouble later on). Drop down to the ground and get the star piece. The chapter doesn’t quite end here, so go back out of the room and use the pipe. After speaking to Pennington, go out of the sanctum. And the chapter will REALLY end.

Interlude
Watch another scene with Grodus and go to TEC’s room when the door opens. Watch the scene. Watch another scene with Bowser, and you’ll be in the final side scrolling stage. Yeah, sad, isn’t it. Anyway, when you finish it, you’ll watch a funny scene with Rawk Hawk and Bowser.

Intermission
Rogueport:

You’ll soon be in Rogueport. Before doing anything else, go back to the sewers.

Rogueport Sewers:

Make your way to the thousand-year door and go on the pedestal. Watch the scene that follows.

Rogueport:

''Don Pianta retires! Frankie to take mantle! Get a fat envelope ready!''

After speaking to Frankly, go outside to the plaza. Go under the wooden platform and use your spring jump to knock down the big treasure chest. Open it to get the Ultra Hammer. Go back to Frankly and talk to him for another scene. When you leave, you should upgrade your partners. Slip through the space between the trouble center and bobbery’s house and use the boat panel to go  under the bridge to the other boat panel. Open the chest for Double Dip badge. Return to the sewers on the east side for some more items.

Rogueport Sewers:

Go to Dazzle to trade any star pieces you have. After that, go to the room with the pipe to Petal Meadows (where you fought Blooper). Use your spring jump to the right of the pole and shimmy to the right to the end and let go. Go into the pipe and go into the house and get the star piece. By jumping on the crates. Return to the pipe and go in it. Go to the upper part of the platform and spring jump to the pipe above. Go back to the other side and jump down. Go to the other side of the pole and spring jump. Shimmy to the right and jump off. Have Bobbery blow up the wall and go through. Get the Defend Plus P badge. GO back to the pipe that leads to Rogueport and use Bobbery again to blow up the cracked wall. You can use the pipe to go to Chet Rippo, who’ll can take points from your HP, FP, or BP and apply them to one of the other two categories (for a fee of course). He can also take a rank from one of your parnters and give it to another (which won’t be useful if you’ve been following this guide). Go back to the room with the shortcuts to Petalburg and the great tree and go into the room to the left.

Use your Ultra hammer to break the large grey block and use the rising platform to go on the ledge and jump to the switch. Use your spin jump to activate them. The treasure chest on the ledge contains a FP Plus badge. Now, you have shortcuts to Keelhaul Key and Poshley Heights. Go into the next room and collect the items from the blocks and defeat the enemies. Have Flurrie blow off the wall that sticks out and go through the tunnel to the boat panel. Keep sailing through the rooms. When you reach the last room you’ll find 3 Shine Sprites and about HALF A DOZEN SPANIAS (and a Spunia)! Defeat them all and get the Shine Sprites (use your spring jump to get the one that’s highest up. Use Yoshi to get to the far off moving platform. Use him again to reach the Defend Plus badge. Go back to the other boat panel and  dock. Now, Return to Dazzle’s spot and roll under the fallen cylinder (you can also use Bobbery to blow up the cylinder, if you wish.) Ride the lift between the two buildings and walk to the pole when the lift stops at the top. Use your spring jump to grab the pipe overhead. Jump off when above the  rooftops and jump across them to reach the shine sprite on the pillar to the right. Return to the surface and Upgrade another partner. Now you can go to the trouble center.


 * Client: Frankie (Rogueport)
 * Title: Important thing!
 * Reward: Gold Card (for use in the Pianta Parlor)

Go to West Rogueport and talk to Frankie (he’s the blue pianta, in case you forgot). Go back to the East Side and you’ll find the wedding ring to the south of the gate across the river. Use Yoshi to get it. Return it to Frankie and you’ll get your reward.


 * Client: Chef Shimi (Excess Express)
 * Title: Get these ingredients!
 * Reward: 40 coins

(You’ll need some space in your inventory, as all of these items are counted as regular ones) First, go to Creepy Steeple. Go into the corridor north of the main hallway and slip through the gap between the fences that are near the door on the other side. Go right and hit the tree for a golden leaf. Now, return to Rogueport sewers and use the shortcut to the Great Tree. Go inside and talk to Petuni. Play her game and choose Mario, likes, which person, and the most. You’ll get a Mystic Egg. Finally, go to Keelhaul Key and whack the big palm tree at the left part of the screen. Get the Keel Mango and go back in the pipe. Return to the sewers, go into the shortcut to Poshley Heights, and ride the Excess Express. Give the three items to Chef Shimi, The good news: he’ll give you 40 coins. The bad news: you’ll have to go though the whole train ride to Rogueport. Continue to take a rest in your bed when you regain control until you arrive there.

Take the blimp to Glitzville and go to Jolene’s office. Talk to her and she’ll give you the book. Return to Rogueport and head to Poshley heights. Toodles is in the pink house at the station. Give her the book and you’ll get your reward.
 * Client: Toodles (Poshley Heights)
 * Title: I must have that book.
 * Reward: Platinum Card (For use in the Pianta Parlor)


 * Client: Businessman (Glitzville)
 * Title: Security Code...
 * Reward: Hot Sauce

Talk to the Ratooey businessman near the save point. Talk to him again and give him the security code, which is 2625. You’ll receive your reward after that.

When you’re fully healed and stocked up, go into the sewers from the West Side. Go to the door that leads to the pipe to Twilight Town. Instead of heading inside, bash the nearby gray block and go inside the pipe past it.