Part 2: This is my personal let's play
Update 2 - This is my personal let's play
Since my emulator crashed, it didn't back up my save RAM, so I get to do the 5-10 minutes of actual gameplay all over again.
This time I go with a name I'm rather fond of.
Also I avoid all battles, as I need to focus on saving first and then pick the right battles to level up on due to the complete lack of reliable healing.
This time I solve the puzzle here.
In the original, this is where Bowser would get his first weapon upgrade. But Bowser's not in this hack, so...
...instead this random terrapin shows up out of nowhere instead.
TERRY: Just as I expected. She gave Jean a wound which is why she was locked up. Hm hm hm...
I'm not going to ask any questions here.
It's a very minor armor upgrade, but at L1 having any defense at all is a boon.
I eventually change the core SNES emulator for BizHawk from SNES9X to BSNES, and that lets me level up. Level ups are full heals, which is a godsend here.
My main priority is bumping up my Defense, as that's the main thing getting me killed this early on.
After all that, I take a detour to properly explore Booster Pass.
Music: Battle 2 
This bush has a new battle theme available, and it's...I don't even know.
It's on par with the grey Snifits in Jean Tower, so it wipes the floor with me.
The switch in Jean Tower unlocks this area, though.
A Frog Coin, a Flower, and our first item.
APPRENTICE: If I beat you, they'll make me Snifit 4! If I'm lucky!
This guy's supposed to be a joke fight in the original. Not so much here!
You don't Game Over here, though. Mario gets back up at 1HP and goes on as normal.
I even head back to the tower to check if this fellow shows up as Snifit 4, but I don't think they do. That said, there's something important about this that will
Music: Battle 1 
At any rate, all I can do for now is grind a bit. The ORB things will sometimes proc a full heal upon defeat, which is nice.
Also these foes drop a lot of consumables, mostly Mushrooms and Honey Syrups, but also Mid Mushrooms.
And this is Snifit 3. They kill me effortlessly.
The Fireball spawn rate isn't really that different here, and even better, these things do little damage at this point and drop 10EXP an encounter, so they aren't a bad option for grinding.
The chain chomps can halve your attack and are pretty durable, but at this point they won't wipe me.
JEAN: Eh...? Oh hey! It's you again! It's great to see you beat me here. I can't believe it! Since you're here, maybe you could clear up something for me.
JEAN: PLEASE... fix my clogged toilet! Hurry up! Fix it please!
nope
JEAN: Great... how will I be able to fix my broken toilet NOW?
...Yep!
Anyway these boost our defenses a bit so they're always welcome to have.
Also the game finally recognizes us being in Booster Tower, so there's that.
JEAN: Hmmmm?
SNIFIT: Jean, I think you need look [sic] more carefully for it. Maybe you have it somewhere?
JEAN: A...ha!
As in the original, there's the whole "Hide from the Snifits opening the curtains" thing going on.
But first, dialogue. I'm not cutting anything out here, it's just as disjointed in the game.
JEAN: Right! Now, about the toilet problem, who should have to fix it? Well? Speak up!
JEAN: Hello? Can you fix my toilet please? HEY! HEY! HEY! Hello? Bob?
JEAN: ...... He does not exist...? Where's that plumber guy? I think I need to find and get him to do it for me. If he's here... I got big bucks for him! Mr. Plumber! Come out and work!
Again, I'm not leaving anything out. We jump right from that to...
JEAN: NUMBER ONE! You're not supposed to reveal the secrets y'know.
And yet again, still not leaving anything out here...
JEAN: NO! This can't be! How will we call for XL if we don't have it on hand?
Pretty sure this goes just as it did in the original.
JEAN: AHHHH! I'm not going to be the one getting hurt if you dare to lose that number. Argh!! Number two, YOU look, too!
After round two of curtain dodging...
JEAN: Hey now! It's pain stackingly [sic] obvious that it's there. Number 3! It's your turn!
After the final round of curtains...
JEAN: It's right here you dumbasses!
So you know how in the original, you could avoid this fight if you succeed in dodging the Snifits? In this hack, it doesn't matter at all! You still fight Jean either way!
Music: Boss - Jean 
First off, Jean's boss theme sounds like a really cool intro to what should be a bangin' remix of the first Booster Tower theme, except it never leaves the intro stage, making it kinda underwhelming.
Anyway, Jean usually uses a punch attack, though sometimes he'll throw a more powerful bomb attack that does more damage.
Either way, we're way overmatched here. I end up doing a good chunk of grinding.
Eventually I beat Snifit 3 and get an Ice Bomb for my troubles.
I also get an XL Pizza from a random encounter, and oddly it can't be used in battle.
I grind all the way to L9 with the occasional attempt before I make any real progress on Jean. I also get a few Mushroom drops along the way.
The boosts to Attack and Defense really help here.
As does learning Super Jump.
After taking some damage, Jean will use Spritz Bomb and Loco Express, which do a good chunk more damage.
After dealing enough damage (I think enough to defeat Booster in the original)...
...Jean activates his red form.
He does more damage and will also throw cards. It's more challenging, but manageable enough.
Oh and there's another phase where three Snifits join the fight.
Suffice to say, I can't win where I'm currently at. So it seems I'm stuck here. Am I really expected to level even more to beat this fight?
Actually, no! There's another path we can take, it's just not intuitive and I end up stumbling upon it completely by mistake! Next time, the weirdness gets turned up a few notches.