Part 18: Update Eighteen: To the Star Street!
Last time on Super Mario RPG, we returned the Princess to the Mushroom Kingdom. She promptly escaped and joined our party. Now, we've got to figure out where to go next. So, let's get this show on the road.
But, first, remember that button we hit in Booster's Tower? Let's check out the payoff of that. This hole has opened up down here, so let's go see what goodies are beyond.
Those aren't any sort of Super Spikeys or something. They're regular ass Spikeys. I won't be killing them, as that's on par with kicking a legless, retarded and deformed puppy. That's already been lit on fire.
A Spookum? Now this, this I won't have any trouble wantonly slaughtering.
He's an apprentice? To who?
Who the hell would apprentice to those jerkoffs? Now I'm going to kick your ass out of general principle.
It's exactly as hard as you think it would be. Though, with my levels, you could say that for just about every fight from here on out.
...There's a training course to be a Snifit? I figured if you could tie your shoes and chew bubblegum at the same time you woulda been golden.
Anywho, at the end of this place, there are three chests. One holds a Flower, this one holds a Kerokero Cola (this game's full-party heal item), and that last one has a Frog Coin in it.
Alright, back on track.
We've gotta go see Frogfucis. Maybe he'll have a few pearls of wisdom to share with us.
Alright, cool. Thanks, Frogfucis.
...
...That's it? That's all you have to say? Not even going to wish us luck?
Asshole. You could at least have given us something more.
Y'know, I'm sure we could have figured out to come here on our own.
I like the look of this place.
And here's the deal for those Star-shaped doors. Hit the appropriate flower (or flowers, as we'll soon find out), and it'll open a door to the next area. This door leads deeper into Star Hill, while that other one takes us back to Marrymore.
: Frogfucius mentioned hearing about a Star Piece on this hill. Let's see if we can find it.
Any star on the ground here that has a smiley-face is a wish that we can read about. Here, we see Frogfucius' wish. There's a few of these scattered about.
This is an encounter with that gopher-thing you could see in the last picture. It was to the left; these are Mukumuku's, and they are adorable. 108 HP, with a chance to drop Lucky Flowers. They're particularly un-noteworthy. Toadstool still doesn't have quite enough power to one-shot 'em.
Pulsar's here have pretty beefy Defense, but with only 69 HP, that doesn't seem too bad, right? Be sure you can one-shot them with physicals if you try it; if not, they have the same sort of instant-kill attack their cousins back in Moleville did. They also have a chance to drop a Lucky Flower.
The rewards here are pretty nice, too. Why did I have to give up grinding?
Alright, here we can see another wish and another flower we have to light up. I already hit one, which you can see.
I'm not sure who this belongs to. Granted, I haven't been chatting with the NPC's like I should be, so it might be pure ignorance on my part.
Same thing as above. Whoops. Also, I decided to fight that Gecko down there.
He came with a buddy. But, we'll focus on the Gecko first. Their HP isn't much to write home about (92), but if you don't kill 'em first, they'll run away. Oddly enough, they're also fairly slow.
Oooh, very spooky. 180 HP, with decent Defense, but they'll fall easily to Fire or physicals. Or just use a Pure Water to one shot them, with a good chance of getting a freebie afterward. For some reason, they're also immune to Thunder, even though it looks like they're swimming...In the ground. Which has waves, not unlike water.
On the right side here, there's another flower to hit. I narrowly missed a fight with that Sackit, by the way.
Just past the door to leave, there's another wish to look at, and a flower just above that.
Oh! Could it be...Mallow?
Jesus, man!
Well, yeah, but come on, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Actually, I guess it probably isn't. From the looks of it, anyone here could just waltz up here and start reading wishes.
I'd be completely embarrassed if I wished to stop being such a pussy, too.
To the right, see that Gecko? This is a very special Gecko, though you wouldn't know it by looking at him.
Look at this encounter!
It'd take a bit beating everything to death, and with Toadstool along, it'd take even longer. So, I plan on speeding this up.
Through nuclear hellfire, courtesy of the heavens!
It's...More than adequate.
Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm showing this fight. Well, Pulsars have a 90% chance to drop Lucky Flowers.
And why not? I spent some cash at the Marrymore Hotel, so I need to recoup my losses, right?
They're 150 Coins at the Marrymore Hotel. I am prepared for whatever may come.
But, for now, let's just go the second area here. We do have a Star Piece to find, afterall.
Oh, Toadofsky. I'll be back with another song later.
Hit this flower, fight that Gecko, and get a Lucky Flower during the fight...
I love this place!
Oh, Chef Torte. You're a terrible baker.
Oh, my. Mallow, would you like some sweet scenes?
: It's from my mom and dad. They're wishing for me to come home! 
Ah, jeez. Here come the waterworks.
Now that's the proper manly attitude!
Whoa, hey, don't get too full of yourself now.
Oh, Locke. You and your silly wishes.
Belome? I thought we iced you back in the Kero Sewers...
After hitting that flower above Belome's wish, we've opened the second door. It leads to the final area here.
We're almost done with this place, and I haven't seen hide nor hair of a Star Piece.
In my search for flowers, I get Bowser a level up, up to 14. I could have given him +3 to Magic Attack, but then that would mean I boost a stat that is, for all intent and purposes, useless. So, he gets a measly +1 Attack bonus.
There's five or six flowers around this area. Maybe seven. And plenty of things to kill.
Mario hits level 17, and snags +3 Magic Attack. Sweet.
In the same battle, Geno hits level 16, and receives +6 HP. Good God, I am far too powerful for where I am.
Luigi...You great bastard. You can already jump better than Mario. Do you really want to take away the only thing he has over you?
This is from Yoshi. It relates to the minigame on Yo'ster Isle, which I'll cover later.
FUCK YOU PUNCHINELLO
Hitting that flower and heading north...
...That's it? It's just sitting there?
Yep, it's just sitting there. I don't know why this one is so easy to get.
Ah, this game taught me something about math. Who says video games rot your mind?
That flower on the left here is the last one we need to hit here.
On my way to the exit, Mallow hits level 17. He gets an additional +2 to Magic Attack.
Ah, our next town. We'll rest, then see about finding something out about that next Star Piece.
Jesus, this town has a lot of shops. Only one Inn, though, and it's to the south.
...The hell is wrong with this guy? Still, thanks, buddy.
...
HE IS STARING AT US 
We're ending the update there...Jesus Christ. Why was he watching us sleep!?
Next time, we avoid that creepy bastard as much as possible. And we might go explore a sunken ship! Stay tuned!