Beating Paper Mario Without Taking Damage: Defeating Bosses with Badges, Status Effects, and Power Bounce

The story begins at Mario's house. An invitation to Princess Peach's party arrives on the day of the party, and Mario and Luigi head to the castle. There, the ground splits open and a new castle rises up from beneath it. Bowser has invaded Star Haven, stolen the Star Rod, which grants people's wishes, and started running amok. Mario is defeated by the Rod's power. The commentator jokes that this is the beginning of "this man's tale of revenge."

The fallen Mario is rescued by some nearby Goombas. The Star Spirits appear at his bedside and tell him that to save Princess Peach, he must first come and see them. Countering Bowser's power requires the help of the seven Star Spirits, but all of them have been captured by Bowser's minions. The commentator explains that traveling around the world to free them is the main thread of the adventure.

Using a technique called "LZS," the commentator avoids unnecessary battles and leaves Goomba Village early. Because of this skip, when the bully Jr. Troopa later picks a fight, the commentator says, "We have absolutely no memory of this guy."

The first boss is the Goomba Bros., Red Goomba and Blue Goomba, who were searching for Mario on orders from above. Goombario has come along from the village as a partner. The commentator explains that in this game, badges can strengthen Mario's abilities in all sorts of ways. In this battle, the plan was to deliberately lower Mario's HP, equip Close Call, and "pray" that the enemy attacks miss. After Blue Goomba was defeated, Red Goomba had 6 HP left, enough for Mario to finish in two more stomps. So Goombario was left to wait while Mario kept attacking alone. After the win, the commentator jokes, "We've overcome the hardest part of this journey."

Chasing the brothers back to their hideout, Mario faces their boss, the Goomba King, who challenges him alongside the brothers. Mario is outnumbered, but Goombario judges that the brothers are still weakened from the previous fight. The commentator had Mario, with his higher attack power, attack the Goomba King, and left the Goomnut Tree gimmick to Goombario, whose attack power is lower. The tree deals 3 damage to everyone, knocking out the brothers and leaving the Goomba King with 4 HP. Mario then took off 3 more, and Goombario finished him off.

The next boss, the Koopa Bros. at Koopa Bros. Fortress, has 10 HP, 1 attack, and 1 defense. The commentator ironically introduces them as a "formidable foe." Using the Thunder Bolt item and new partner Bombette's Bomb, Mario brings their HP down to 1, then uses the Action Commands unlocked at this point to guard against the enemy's attacks and deals 1 damage with the hammer. The papier-mâché shell crumbles, revealing the second form: the four Koopa Bros. stacked in a human pyramid. This too is toppled with Bomb and flipped over, and while they're unable to move, Star Storm finishes them off.

On the way back after rescuing the first Star Spirit, Mario is accosted by Jr. Troopa, the Goomba Village bully. He has 15 HP, 2 attack, and 1 defense. Since his attack is 2, the commentator decides it's "impossible to guard everything" and uses Dizzy Attack to make the enemy dizzy and stop him from acting.

According to the commentator, many enemies in this game are vulnerable to status effects, and bosses are no exception. They predict that for opponents that can't be overpowered with raw damage, status effects will continue to be the answer. For the partner, Bombette was chosen since she currently deals the most damage. Bomb brought his remaining HP down to 4, and he could have been defeated right away, but the commentator deliberately had Mario poke him to hear his "dying words" before finishing him off with Bomb.

In the Dry Dry Ruins in Dry Dry Desert, visited in search of the second Star Spirit, a suspicious mask floats in the innermost chamber, and scattered body parts come together to form the boss, Tutankoopa. Based on the design of his headpiece, the commentator predicts that a Chain Chomp will appear.

Tutankoopa has 30 HP, 3 attack, and 0 defense. The commentator praises the fact that Hammer Throw, aimed at a high target, and the moves of new partner Parakarry can deal 6 damage at this point. As predicted, Tutankoopa summons a Chain Chomp. With 4 HP, 3 attack, and 3 defense, it's a strong unit, but rather than bothering with it, the commentator went for immobilization with the Stop Watch.

Here the commentator cautions that status effects can miss. Each enemy has different resistances, and the success rate and number of turns the effect lasts vary as well. This time it worked, and all that was left was to keep hitting. With 13 HP remaining, the commentator reasoned that the enemy wouldn't move again until the next turn and planned a sure kill: Shell Shot brought it down to 2, and Mario's attack finished it.

While wandering a haunted forest in search of the third Star Spirit, Mario runs into Jr. Troopa again, who has also gotten lost, and a rematch begins. This time he has gained the ability to fly and has been powered up to 40 HP, 5 attack, and 1 defense.

The commentator first attacked with Thunder Rage, then used the Stop Watch. The "sweet part," they say, is that the Double Dip badge lets you use two items in one turn. Once the immobilization succeeded, Parakarry, who can target airborne enemies, was brought in, and together with Mario they piled on damage. Mario's jump had also been upgraded along the way, and by the end of this turn the enemy's remaining HP was 19. At this point the status effect wore off, so this time Sleep Stomp was used to try for sleep, and it succeeded as well.

The commentator mentions having used a lot of FP in this battle, and reflects that the FP Plus badge, which raises maximum FP, "did a surprisingly good job." The fight was ended with Shell Shot.

After getting through Forever Forest, Mario and company take on a request: an immortal monster is devouring the Boos, and in exchange for freeing the Star Spirit, they're to defeat it. It turns out the reason it's immortal is that its heart exists independently of its body.

Tubba Blubba's Heart has 50 HP, 6 attack, and 0 defense. The commentator explains that new partner Lady Bow's Smack is a combo of five hits in total, effective against enemies with 0 defense. However, Lady Bow's real strength lies in her defensive move. When the enemy's body glows in rainbow colors, it's a signal that a powerful attack is coming the next turn. So Outta Sight was used to completely nullify the attack. Lady Bow can't act on the following turn, but being able to sit out an attack for a turn is powerful, and the commentator says it will be very useful from here on.

When the Heart's HP drops to 5 or lower, the battle ends on its own and it hops away. Cornered, the heart and body choose to merge. The merged Tubba Blubba has 10 HP and 0 defense, a "small fry," and was finished with a single jump.

Searching for the fourth Star Spirit, Mario chases a Shy Guy that appeared in town and jumps into a toy box, where a strange world unfolds inside. The Big Lantern Ghost has 40 HP, 5 attack, and 0 defense. The room is dark, so it can't be attacked as is; first, Lady Bow's Smack is used to hit the lantern and secure visibility, and once it's bright, Mario attacks the main body.

Here the commentator uses Power Bounce, which promises high damage, for the first time. With 40 HP, the math says 12 stomps will do it. Against strong enemies, RNG makes you hit the cap quickly, but even bouncing up to the cap can be expected to deal high damage, they say.

In the deepest part of the toy box awaits the Shy Guys' leader, General Guy. Since it's a four-battle sequence, the commentator went in equipped with a variety of badges to handle both minor enemies and bosses.

1. Shy Squad: A squad of 15 with 15 HP and 0 defense, so they're scattered with jumps.
2. Stilt Guys: Two with 7 HP each, finished off with Multibounce.
3. Shy Stack: With 10 HP, they can't all be defeated at once, so Bombette's Power Bomb provides support.
4. General Guy himself: 30 HP, 4 attack, 2 defense.

Before the fight with the boss himself, Watt, who had been trapped inside the Big Lantern Ghost, joins the party. Watt's move raises Mario's attack by 1, and in that state Power Bounce is unleashed, wiping out all 30 HP in one go. From then on, this combination becomes the commentator's basic strategy.

Searching for the fifth, Mario crosses the sea riding a tuna and heads to Mt. Lavalava. The boss here is the talking plant Lava Piranha, and the commentator remarks that talking ones may be rare even across the whole series. With 40 HP, 5 attack, and 0 defense, it was defeated by raising attack with Watt and using Power Bounce. It then reappears wreathed in flames, with its attack rising from 5 to 7. Even so, the strategy doesn't change: power up with Watt and stomp with Mario. This time it has gained a weakness, so the damage goes up too, and the commentator explains that about five stomps will finish it.

Returning to town, Mario faces Jr. Troopa, who has been tailing him, for the third time. He has 40 HP, 6 attack, and 1 defense, but his HP has been halved to 20 from the fatigue of the long journey, and the commentator says he's "not much different from your average small fry." However, in addition to his flying ability, Jr. Troopa has grown a spike on his head as an anti-jump measure. So Mario equips the Spike Shield and stomps him flat without a second thought.

In Flower Fields, searched for the sixth, Mario meets Lakilester, a minion of Bowser's minion Huff N. Puff. He has 50 HP, 4 attack, and 0 defense. Lady Bow's Fan Smack dealt a total of 10 damage, and seven Power Bounce stomps wiped out the remaining 40. Lakilester, who wants to become a big man someday, loses "a man-to-man showdown" and then joins Mario's journey in search of thrilling adventure.

Huff N. Puff, waiting above the clouds, is a huge cloud monster scheming to envelop the whole world in clouds, and for some reason speaks in a Kagoshima dialect. He has 60 HP, 5 attack, and 0 defense. Every time he's attacked he splits into small clouds, and if left alone they restore his HP, but the commentator says it's no problem if you stomp him out in one turn, and indeed defeats him exactly that way.

In the snowy far reaches of the land, searched for the seventh, Jr. Troopa lies in ambush. For this fourth fight, the commentator remarks that for someone who isn't even part of Bowser's army, he "has quite a bit of grit." With magic learned through a correspondence course, his firepower has increased: 50 HP, 8 attack, 1 defense. Watt's Turbo Charge raised attack by 1, and eight Power Bounce stomps wore him down. The commentator notes that he could also be defeated using status effects, but to keep the runtime short, they finish him off quickly.

In the innermost part of the Crystal Palace awaits Crystal King, guarding the last Star Spirit. He has 70 HP, 6 attack, and 2 defense. The commentator brought Kooper, who had had no screen time up to this point, as a status effect specialist, but admits there's no real point in bringing him since Watt's move can substitute, and immediately swaps him out for Watt. Attack was raised to bring the jump's power up to +7, and about five stomps defeated him.

Having rescued all the Star Spirits, Mario and company learn a technique to counter Bowser's Star Rod, and ride a vehicle to Bowser's Castle. The commentator jokes that they could just go straight in from the roof, but dutifully enter from the landing pad because they "understand their role as the protagonist."

Inside the castle, as Mario confronts the Koopa Bros., Jr. Troopa shows up for their final fight. He has 60 HP, 8 attack, and 2 defense. To finish him off the next turn, Mario first uses Charge, and the enemy's attack is avoided with Lady Bow's Outta Sight. Starting at 12 damage, the math says seven stomps will wipe out his 60 HP, and he's defeated exactly that way.

Next comes a fight with a plain Bowser, not powered up by the Star Rod. The commentator calls his 50 HP, 6 attack, and 1 defense a "small fry" and stomps him flat with Power Bounce.

Chasing Bowser up a long staircase, Mario reaches the roof. Bowser has prepared a special arena for the final showdown, and Kammy Koopa uses her magic to boost Bowser's stats. The commentator says, "Buffs really are the key to battle," and mentions that they've prepared a "secret-weapon buff" of their own.

Bowser's HP is 99, the highest in the game. The commentator raised attack with the effect of a good-luck charm and chipped away at his HP with Power Bounce. Lakilester was used as the partner, using Cloud Nine to raise evasion and weather the powerful attack on the next turn. That breath attack deals 10 damage if taken head-on, and the commentator says, "We nearly got burned to a crisp."

Bowser has 42 HP left. Since he becomes invincible on his next action, the plan was to wipe him out before that, so attack was raised with Turbo Charge and then Mario stomped about six times. But even after falling, Bowser still wields the Star Rod. Mario tries to dispel it with Star Beam, but Bowser's power has grown too much to cancel out.

Meanwhile, Princess Peach drives off Kammy Koopa together with the Star Kid Twink. The source of the Star Spirits' power is people's wishes, and Princess Peach's wish gives Mario and his friends power. While Twink draws the enemy's attention, Star Beam is strengthened, and the battle resumes. The newly learned Peach Beam breaks the Star Rod's power, Bowser's invincibility crumbles, and a final light poke settles the fight.

The Star Rod is recovered, and peace returns to the Mushroom Kingdom. The commentator watches the ending "while swinging a frying pan," and wraps up with this verdict: the battle system, incorporating a wide range of action elements, is as excellent as ever, the laid-back, cute, picture-book-like world and the casual exchanges with the characters are charming, and it was a thoroughly satisfying game from start to finish.