This route skips getting Yoshi from Minor League, and instead gets him from the end of Chapter 4. This does require some trickery to get to the Twilight Town pipe twice without Yoshi. There are several options that are similar in speed and have different pros and cons. You could also save in Flurrie's house and copy the file to get Jump Storage later, but this loses at least 30 seconds. Details for each of these options are outlined in this Google Doc. The route will assume you use Don Pianta Jump Storage for Ultra Hammer, then use the email after the Blimp Ticket to get rejected by the Twilight Town pipe. If you want to use another option, copy the route notes for yourself and make the appropriate adjustments.
If you fail any of the Jump Storages, you can always go ahead and do Teleporter Room Early (Unspin Clip or Flurrie Superslide) so that you can get Jump Storage from the door. For Ultra Hammer, you could resort to the Flurrie Superslide method. For getting to the Twilight Town pipe, Double Jump is also an option but not recommended.
Before starting your run, it's recommended that you enable debug mode by pressing X, B, R, B, Y, L on the title screen.
Note: Leave the memory card out to skip the autosave at the start of the game. There are no autosaves after this so you can put it in any time after the curtain pulls.
Timing starts when you accept the file name
[section=Category Definition]
You must obtain the following: ➢ Ultra Hammer ➢ Ultra Boots ➢ All Black Chest Curses ➢ Fully upgrade all partners (and as a consequence all shines, but duping is allowed)
[section=Prologue]
Lord Crump ➢ Mario: Jump x2 ➢ Superguard Crump's jump attack ➢ Mario: Jump x2 Level = 1.09
Note: It's always faster to fail the Action Command for the 2nd jump
Goombella joins your party Break Zess T.'s contact lens
Toad Bros. Bazaar ➢ Order the contact lens ➢ Buy 3 Fright Masks ➢ Buy 6 Fire Flowers
If you plan on hitting a Save Block to save at any point, it is faster to hit the Save Block and say no so that Goombella doesn’t explain saving to you. Otherwise, it’s faster to let her explain it.
Robbed by Bandit (don't chase him to get the coins back, you make it up later) Meet Frankly Decline the Action Command tutorial (menu up for the first option, then mash B for the second)
Goomba Trio ➢ Fire Flower (mash A) Level = 1.19
Get the Black Key and Plane Curse
[section=Petal Meadows]
Bridge Skip (or check the bush to reveal a pipe and hit the switch in the background)
Get the Fire Flower from the block
Talk to Mayor Kroop E-mail on the way to the gate (don’t check it yet, it is faster to do so later) Get the POW Block from the block near the Spiky Goomba
Bald Clefts ➢ Mario: POW Block (mash A) Level = 1.29
Get the POW Block from the bush near the Paragoomba
Bristles ➢ Mario: POW Block (mash A) Level = 1.43
Get the Fire Flower from the block near the Koopa Troopa Super Fun Quirk Quiz 65 (1, 3, 4, 2, 3 [if necessary: 1, 2])
Get Multibounce from the red block Go right for the Sun Stone
Fuzzies ➢ Mario: Fire Flower (mash A) Level = 1.59
Go back left for the Moon Stone
Fuzzies ➢ Mario: Fire Flower (mash A) Level = 1.75
Gold Fuzzy ➢ Mario: Jump x2 on Gold Fuzzy ➢ Goombella: Headbonk x2 ➢ Guard Fuzzy horde ➢ Superguard Gold Fuzzy ➢ Mario: Jump x2 on Gold Fuzzy ➢ Goombella: Fire Flower (mash A) Level = 1.97
Go back to Petal Meadows Koops joins your party Go to Hooktail Castle
[section=Hooktail Castle]
Get Power Bounce from the red block in the first hall Don't read Kolorado’s dad's letter (mash B to pick the second option)
Red Bones ➢ Mario: Fire Flower (mash A) ➢ Koops: Fire Flower (mash A) Level = 2.30 // FP = 10
Do Lock Jump and Flip Skip to get to the Castle Key (jump directly to the key to prepare for the Shine dupe) Jump on top of the Shine Sprite to dupe it [2/42] Go all the way to the right and get the Black Key from the chest Get the Paper Curse Get Attack FX R
Open the Badge menu (D-Pad right) while unspinning from Paper Mode (so that the animation finishes in the pause menu) ➢ Equip Attack FX R (A) ➢ Equip Power Bounce (down 1 -> A) ➢ Check the e-mail so that you don’t get text explaining e-mails again (B x2 -> left 1 -> A -> down 1 -> A x3)
Backtrack to Red Bones room and get the Castle Key Go back to the room with the Save Block and ride the green block up to unlock the door In the upper hallway, hit first “!” block Use Koops to hit 2nd “!” block
Note: You can jump to the window without hitting the second block. It saves 8 seconds. However, if you mess up and fall below, you waste about 30 seconds. However, you can clip out of bounds in paper mode at the bottom-right corner of the room, which will place you back up to the upper hallway.
Grab the Life Shroom with Koops while riding the big green block up.
Ms. Mowz cutscene Get the Castle Key Get the Shine Sprite [3/42]
Go through the locked door Get the last Castle Key Go through the big locked door and head to Hooktail
Note: If you didn't dupe the first Shine, get the one at the top now so that you have enough to upgrade Koops. Otherwise, it is slightly faster to wait and get it when you come back for Ms. Mowz's trouble
You should have the following badges equipped: ➢ Attack FX R ➢ Power Bounce
Hooktail ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x9 ➢ Koops: Shell Toss ➢ Guard Hooktail's fire ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x8 ➢ Koops: Shell Toss ➢ Hooktail cutscene (pick the first option; if you pick the second option, it is faster to say no to the next two questions) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x8 ➢ Koops: Shell Toss Level = 2.61
[section=Pre-Chapter 2]
Peach Segment ➢ Enter the shower area and leave immediately to open the door (you don’t have to take a shower) ➢ Visit TEC
Bowser Segment ➢ Walk to the end of the hall
Grab Mega Rush P Peach e-mail before the bridge in Petal Meadows
You can speed swap to skip waiting for the last platform to move to the pipe
Go back to the Thousand-Year Door Upgrade Koops after leaving Frankly’s house
Go to Boggly Woods
[section=Boggly Woods]
Go right for the Shadow Sirens cutscene
Go to the Great Tree Talk to Punio by the door Talk to Punio again Leave the Great Tree for the Flurrie cutscene
Get P-Down, D-Up P from the hidden block (7th stump from the right) Raise the Plane Panel Get the Shine Sprite to the left of the plane panel [4/42]
Talk to Flurrie Leave Flurrie’s house for the Shadow Sirens cutscene
Get Quake Hammer from the block on the way to the Shadow Sirens
Note: You could skip Quake Hammer if you're confident in avoiding all extra encounters. This can end up saving ~1.5 seconds, and an additional ~2 seconds if Power Rush is on sale. You need to enter the badge shop with at least 5 coins for this to work out cleanly (i.e. you can afford 1 extra encounter, but only if you recover a coin from it). You would also not have enough coins to buy anything from Charlieton except Mega Rush (i.e. no Boo's Sheet). If you do this and don't get discounted Power Rush, sell items in Westside Goods instead of storing them (~2 seconds slower to sell). If you end up short on coins, you can sell the Life Shroom then get the one in Chapter 4.
Shadow Sirens ➢ Mario: Fire Flower (down 1, or mash A if you got a Fire Flower after Chapter 1) ➢ Koops: Power Shell ➢ Guard Beldam's blizzard attack ➢ Mario: Fire Flower (down 1) ➢ Koops: Power Shell Level = 2.97
Note: You will level up before event overflow, so you do not need to heal out of Danger
Grab the Necklace Tree Clip Go back to Flurrie’s house Flurrie joins your party Go back to the Great Tree
E-mail on the screen with the Great Tree in the background Blow away the secret entrance and enter the Great Tree
[section=The Great Tree]
X-Nauts ➢ Mario: Fright Mask (up 1, or mash A if you don't have the Life Shroom) Level = 2.98
Go to the top of the tree (where the cells are) Enter the storage room
X-Naut ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x4 (x9 if the X-Naut has HP Plus or HP Plus P) Level = 3.03 // BP = 6
Get the Red Key
Unlock the blue lock using event overflow (this ends up saving ~33 seconds overall) (pause time is ~90+ seconds)
Open the Badge menu while waiting in the pause menu ➢ Equip Mega Rush P (down 2 -> A)
Unlock the red cage to free the Puni Elder
Get the Power Punch from the bush below the cage room on the way back to the entrance Get the 10 Punies and the Puni Orb
Shuffle or use "weird jumps" to keep the Punies in the bubble room
10 Jabbi fight
Get the Blue Key from the chest. When exiting the load there's one of two things that must occur: [center] If you did event overflow: You must manipulate the cutscenes so you load in with 101 Punies. Demonstration video: you are free to go straight left to the 100 Jabbi fight now
If you didn't event overflow: Watch the cutscene, then drop down in the Pider room to lose the Punies. Then head back up to the blue cage, you can obtain the Shine Sprite and Thunder Rage in bubble room during this backtrack. [/center]
Regardless of the route, get across the Pider room by hammering the block under the badge block and jump across (video for demonstration). You can get Damage Dodge P for 75 extra coins if it goes left.
100 Jabbi fight (or do Jabbi Hive Skip if you’re cool, saves ~11 seconds) Cage Skip Water Switch Skip
Go down the pipe and place the Puni Orb in the next two spots to reveal the Crystal Star Leave the Punies at the pillar and start the escape
X-Nauts ➢ Mario: Swap to Koops ➢ Koops: Fright Mask (up 1) Level = 3.04
Go get the Super Boots Break the floor panel (while swapping to Koops) and grab Charge and the Shine Sprite [5/42] Take the red door back down to the basement re-trigger the escape
X-Nauts ➢ Mario: Fright Mask (up 1) Level = 3.05
Drop down in the bubble room for the Thunder Rage and Shine Sprite on the way back to the entrance [6/42]
Note: Whenever you use a Spin Jump in battle, make sure you hit both Action Commands
Magnus Von Grapple ➢ Koops: Power Punch on Mario ➢ Mario: Spin Jump ➢ Guard or Superguard Magnus' stomp ➢ Mario: Spin Jump ➢ Koops: Swap to Goombella ➢ Magnus detaches X-Fists ➢ Mario: Spin Jump ➢ Goombella: Swap to Koops (or Flurrie if you're doing Flurrie Superslide for Ultra Hammer) ➢ Guard 1 fist (2 if Mario has 9HP) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x6 (x5 if you Superguarded) on Magnus Level = 3.37
[section=Pre-Chapter 3]
Peach Segment ➢ Visit TEC for dancing (just walk around the door until it opens, need to hit 10 out of the 16 dance cues correctly)
Bowser Segment ➢ Beat 1-1 (161 is best possible time, 160 if you get the meats)
Peach e-mail outside Great Tree
Get the Honey Syrup on the way out of Boggly Woods
Note: If you want to keep a Dried Shroom/Mushroom to heal out of Peril in Chapter 5 or Chapter 8, skip the Honey Syrup and get the Jammin' Jelly in Chapter 8 instead
Go to the Thousand-Year Door
Lovely Howz of Badges (second option to sell) ➢ Sell Damage Dodge P if you got it (down 1) ➢ Sell Quake Hammer (down 1) ➢ Sell P-Down, D-Up (down 1) ➢ Sell Attack FX R (down 2) ➢ You should just have Charge, Mega Rush P, Power Bounce, and Multibounce left at this point ➢ Buy Power Rush (first option to buy, second option for non-sales, scroll down for Power Rush; or get it from the counter if it's on sale)
Toad Bros Bazaar ➢ Buy the Contact Lens ➢ Get a Mushroom from shop points
Buy Mega Rush and Boo’s Sheet from Charlieton (you need at least 104 coins if you want to buy other stuff to increase your odds for later checks)
Note: Keep the Dried Shroom if you are scared about Peril. You need to get to Boat Mode in Peril, and also the start of Chapter 8 later.
Westside Goods ➢ Buy 1 Dried Shroom ➢ Buy 1 Dizzy Dial ➢ Answer anything for first question, “Yellow” for second (3rd option) ➢ Store 1 Dizzy Dial, 1 Mushroom, 1 Dried Shroom
Reminder: You can go ahead and do Teleporter Room Early (Unspin Clip or Flurrie Superslide) as a backup for failing Jump Storages in Rogueport. Don't take the teleporter to the fortress now, just open the door from the inside so that you can get Jump Storage from the door. Also note that you only need to do TRE once, the door will stay open for the rest of the run after you've opened it from the inside.
Jump Storage from the Don Pianta cutscene
If you don't have Mega Rush yet, go to the train station to refresh Charlieton's inventory (unless you're going to the sewers to do TRE now)
Super Jump to the Ultra Hammer chest
Go to Rogueport Harbor and talk to Francesca (choose the first dialogue option) If you are not in Peril for whatever reason, fall in the water until you are
Check Charlieton for Mega Rush if necessary (you need at least 90 coins if you want to buy other stuff to increase your odds for later checks)
Go back to Don Pianta and get the Blimp Ticket
Jump Storage from email outside Pianta Parlor
Note: Duping the Shine near Twilight Town pipe requires doing a Super Jump for at least one trip.
Go to the sewers and Super Jump up to the left platform, landing on top of the Shine Sprite block. You can now dupe this Shine Sprite [8/42] then get rejected by the Twilight Town pipe.
If you don't have Mega Rush yet, farm Charlieton until you do (before Mega Rush, you need 90 coins from here)
[section=Glitzville]
Souvenir Shop ➢ Buy 1 Power Punch ➢ Buy 3 Point Swaps
Enter the Glitz Pit Go into the lower lobby doors Head backstage through the left door and walk around to Grubba's office Do not sign up to be a fighter (pick the second option after Grubba shows you around)
Bookcase Jump Head through the vent to trigger a later point in the chapter Use an Ultra Hammer spin to break the vent on the right side and exit Check the desk drawer and read the paper
Go left to the storage room and climb the stairs to the second floor Speed swap from the crates to get on top of the Shine Sprite so that you can dupe it [10/42]
Open the Badge menu ➢ Equip Mega Rush (A) ➢ Equip Power Rush (down 1 -> A [one more down input for every extra badge from Charlieton]) ➢ Equip Mega Rush P if you haven't yet (down 2 -> A) ➢ Swap to Goombella
Chase Grubba to the arena
Make sure Goombella is out
You should have the following badges equipped: ➢ Mega Rush ➢ Power Rush ➢ Mega Rush P ➢ Power Bounce
Macho Grubba ➢ Mario: Jump x2 ➢ Goombella: Point Swap (top) on Goombella ➢ Grubba powers up ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x4 ➢ Goombella: Headbonk x2 Level = 3.71
[section=Pre-Chapter 4]
Peach Segment ➢ Visit TEC ➢ Ride the elevator up ➢ Enter the first door on the right ➢ Check the second locker from the left and change into an X-Naut ➢ Exit, go right, and talk to Grodus ➢ Change back into Peach and exit the room
Bowser Segment ➢ Check the bush on the far right (the one with the Puni Elder)
Get the Shine Sprite outside Glitz Pit, hammer the block underneath [11/42] Leave Glitzville Swap to Flurrie in the background, or to Koops if you didn't get rejected yet Peach e-mail before the sewer grate in West Rogueport Fall down into Rogueport Sewers
Make sure you get rejected by the pipe now if you haven't yet
Head down the pipe on the right side of the room Use Paper Mode to fall through the bars Use Flurrie to reveal the pipe leading to the Pit of 100 Trials entrance Go down the pipe and exit to the right Get the Shine Sprite via the spring (swap to Koops while entering Paper Mode) [12/42] Stand on the pedestal in front of the Thousand-Year Door
Jump Storage from e-mail leaving Frankly's house (get Koops stuck on the fence near the sewers pipe)
TALK TO DARKLY
Go back to West Rogueport Sewers You can check for the Boo's Sheet here one more time if you want it.
Super Jump or Double Jump up to the platform (if you didn't get the shine yet, this is your last chance to dupe it)
Enter the pipe to Twilight Town
[section=Twilight Town & Creepy Steeple]
Go right and talk to the gatekeeper Return to the mayor's house to see him turned into a pig Talk to the shop manager's wife
Return to the gatekeeper (you can try to get Jump Storage from the pig cutscene, get Koops stuck on the fence at the bottom)
If you don't have Jump Storage, get the Shop Key by shooting Koops under the fallen log Get the Black Key in the shed
If you got Jump Storage, perform Shop Key Skip by Super Jumping from the tree near the shop If you didn’t do Shop Key Skip, use the Shop Key to unlock the back room in the shop
Unlock the Black Chest to get the Tube Curse
Take the Boo's Sheet and Jammin’ Jelly (also the Life Shroom if you don't have one)
Exit the shop normally, or Flurrie Superslide on the back room door to fall out of bounds and back to the Twilight Trail entrance (can't do this if you did Shop Key Skip)
E-mail outside the shop Use Tube Mode to move through the next three screens (swap to Flurrie while accelerating) Use Flurrie to blow away the haystack
Walk through the next two screens, using Flurrie to open a path in the tree trunk Use Flurrie to reveal a floor panel on the following screen Swap to Koops in the background and push the rock Get the Shine Sprite near Hyper Cleft [13/42] Proceed to Creepy Steeple
If you are not in Peril, drop down into the well and take damage from the Buzzy Beetle, then run away
Use Tube Mode to bypass the gate and enter Creepy Steeple Push the statue to the right and fall down to free the Boos (pick the first option) Take the spring back up and talk to the Boo (pick the second option) Go through the bottom door and hit the red switch once using Koops Use Koops to grab the Steeple Key at the top Enter the upper door and hit the red switch twice using Koops (hammer it once if you Super Jumped to the key) Go up the stairs and unlock the tower Swap to Goombella and climb the spiral staircase
Doopliss ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x7 ➢ Goombella: Headbonk x2 Level = 3.95
Backtrack to Twilight Town Run away from Doopliss Check the leftmost bush on the far left side of Twilight Town to find the Superbombomb Show the Superbombomb to Vivian Vivian joins your party Run away from Doopliss again and backtrack to Creepy Steeple
Drop into the well Grab the Shine Sprite near the Buzzy Beetle [14/42] If you're not in Peril, take damage from the one Buzzy Beetle that doesn't notice you in the second room Shine Sprite on the way to the parrot [15/42] Get Power Plus (left chest), the Letter "p", and the Steeple Key Take the spring back to the main area Tube Mode into the treasure room for the Shine Sprite [16/42]
Spell out Doopliss' name (ランペル) ➢ Up, left, up x2, A ➢ Down x2, right, down, A ➢ Left, down, left, A ➢ Up x4, left, A ➢ Right x2, down x2, right x3, down, A
Chase Doopliss back to Creepy Steeple Enter the upper door Hit the red switch once Climb to the top of the tower
Doopliss ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x7 Level = 4.20 // BP = 9
[section=Pre-Chapter 6]
Peach Segment ➢ TEC Quiz (2, 1, 3, 2, 3)
Bowser Segment ➢ Beat 2-1 (154 is the fastest possible time)
Open the Badge menu before getting Double Dip P ➢ Equip Multibounce (up 1 -> A) ➢ Unequip Power Bounce (up 1 -> A) ➢ Unequip Mega Rush P (up 1 -> A) ➢ Equip Power Plus (L -> A)
Peach e-mail exiting the Twilight Town door Head to Fahr Outpost to get Double Dip P and the first Shine Sprite [17/42]
Note: You can go all the way right to General White's house to dupe the Shine Sprite if you need/want extras. The route assumes you do NOT go over here.
Go down the pipe on the right side of the sewers screen Fall through the bars in Paper Mode and head right Break the gray block and open the left pipe to Poshley Heights
Note: It is about 1 second faster to do the HRG in the blue pipe room instead of breaking the block, probably worth one shot. If you get it, make sure you hit both switches now, because you will be in Peril when you come back to go to Chapter 5.
Head left and board the train
[section=Excess Express & Riverside Station]
Talk to the conductor at the back of the train (left) Talk to Pennington in the kitchen Examine the floor in front of Cabin 003 Talk to Heff T. Get the Galley Pot from the drawer
If you don’t have the Boo’s Sheet from Charlieton and want to be safe for invincible Shadow Queen, you can buy a Boo’s Sheet at Sales Stall as long as you have 20+ coins
Talk to Pennington in Cabin 006 Talk to Sylvia in Cabin 008 to find out about Bub’s present (pick the first option) Talk to Bub twice more Talk to the conductor Get the Autograph from the engineer Give Bub the Autograph for the Shine Sprite [18/42]
Talk to the conductor Use Vivian to talk to Ghost T. in Cabin 004 Get the Ragged Diary from the baggage car Give the Ragged Diary to Ghost T. Give the Blanket to the conductor (receive Mushroom or toss it if inventory is full) Dupe the Shine Sprite in Cabin 005 and go to sleep [20/42]
E-mail at the beginning of the dining car Head to Cabin 006 to talk to Pennington Get the Vital Paper in Cabin 001 Return to Cabin 006 and give Pennington the Vital Paper Use Vivian to catch Zip Toad in Cabin 005 Return the Briefcase when prompted Exit the train Talk to the Riverside worker to get the Station Key Unlock the door and head inside
Use Tube Mode to hit the blue switch in the second room Go up the stairs and cross the gears to the Station Key Go back one room and unlock the door to go outside Drop down and blow away the posters with Flurrie Use Tube Mode to enter the maze Get P-Up, D-Down and proceed through the next two rooms
Goombas ➢ Swap to Koops ➢ Failed Power Shell Level = 4.23
Goombas ➢ Failed Power Shell Level = 4.26
Goombas ➢ Failed Power Shell Level = 4.29
Hit the numbered switches to spawn the stairs Get the Shine Sprite with Koops [21/42] Get the Ultra Boots
Spring Jump to get the Elevator Key Begin backtracking to the first room of Riverside Dupe the Shine Sprite in the outside section [23/42]
Get the Thunder Rage from the invisible block upstairs (above the block on the ground) (toss Mushroom if necessary, down 1)
Ride the elevator down and hammer the Smorgs away Activate both switches to lower the bridge E-mail in front of the train
Go to sleep in Cabin 005 Go talk to engineer to start the Smorg sequence E-mail at the beginning of the dining car Head all the way left and clear the Smorgs in the baggage car Spring Jump up to the roof Use Yoshi to run to the front of the train
You should have the following badges equipped: ➢ Power Plus ➢ Mega Rush ➢ Power Rush ➢ Multibounce (unnecessary for now)
Smorg ➢ Yoshi: Thunder Rage (up 2, or up 1 if you don't have the Life Shroom from Hooktail Castle) ➢ Mario: Spin Jump (hit both Action Commands) ➢ Yoshi: Thunder Rage (mash A) ➢ Mario: Spin Jump (hit both Action Commands) ➢ Guard Smorg's claw attack ➢ Mario: Spin Jump on the body (hit both Action Commands) Level = 4.66
Get off the Excess Express (do not sleep in the bed)
Note: If you want to fill inventory to do the Super Jump method for Bobbery Early (fastest), get 2 extra items. You can get a Keel Mango/Courage Shell and go for Jump Storage to Super Jump up the cliff. Otherwise, get 2 Inn Coupons (one near pasta stand, one behind bush on Coconut screen)
Grab the Shine Sprite outside Poshley Sanctum [24/42] Go back to Rogueport Sewers via the blue pipe Open and use the pipe on the right
[section=Keelhaul Key]
Get Ice Power below the bridge Get the Shine Sprite behind the trees [25/42]
Open the Badge menu before doing Bobbery Early ➢ Unequip Power Plus (down 3 -> A) ➢ Equip Power Bounce (R -> A [add 1 down input for every extra badge from Charlieton]) ➢ Equip Ice Power (L -> A) ➢ Equip P-Up, D-Down (down 1 -> A)
Bobbery Early (fastest method is Super Jump, but risks wasting a lot of time if inventory isn't full)
You should have the following badges equipped: ➢ Ice Power ➢ P-Up, D-Down (unnecessary for now) ➢ Mega Rush ➢ Power Rush ➢ Power Bounce (unnecessary for now) ➢ Multibounce
Embers ➢ Mario: Multibounce (up 2) Level = 4.90
Hammer the tree to knock Bobbery down
Sort Glitch or just use the Dried Shroom if you want
Get 2 Coconuts on the screen to the left (if you got an extra item, you only need 1 Coconut)
Get the Shine Sprite to the left of the cliffs [26/42] Give the Coconut to Flavio (mash A) for the Chuckola Cola Take the Chuckola Cola back to Bobbery Bobbery joins your party Pirate's Grotto Early
[section=Pirate's Grotto]
Note: You could get Jump Storage from a spring to Super Jump on top of the boat Shine and dupe it. This is not routed in because it is too tricky and risky, but if you decide to do this then you can skip the Shine in the grotto storage room.
Get the Shine Sprite on the boat (can get this on the way out if you want to be safe) [27/42] Head right, up, and around for the Grotto Key Ride the crate up to get the Shine Sprite [28/42] Dupe the Shine Sprite near the Parabuzzy at the top of the cliff [30/42] Drop down and unlock the door, then head down Use Koops to get the Shine Sprite over the water [31/42] Hammer the invisible block and get the Shine Sprite [32/42]
You can use Paper Mode against the north wall to dodge the first set of Bill Blasters. The same strat works against the south wall for the second set of Bill Blasters.
If you are not at 1 HP, fall in the water to get into Peril Check the black chest in the wrecked ship at the end of the path
Embers ➢ Mario: Multibounce (up 2) Level = 5.14 // BP = 12
Open the chest for Boat Mode Leave the Grotto (you can jump around the bridge Bill Blasters)
Get the Thunder Rage on top of the cliff on the way back to sewers
Note: You can go for Jump Storage from the Thunder Rage if you're willing to navigate past the Fuzzies in Tube Mode (don't do this if you're getting the Shines in Spania room)
[section=Pre-Chapter 7]
Note: If your Shine count is short more than 1, go left and Boat Mode to the Spania room for up to 3 Shine Sprites
Note: If you already have Jump Storage, skip the first Fire Flower Jump Storage
Go to the right and get Jump Storage from the Fire Flower in first ? block (don't keep the Fire Flower until you've gone for the Shine dupe)
Dupe the Shine Sprite by the Chapter 1 pipe [34/42]
Jump Storage from the Fire Flower again (toss extra item this time, down 2)
Head up to East Rogueport, use Tube Mode to jump up the steps
Super Jump from the bottles near Darkly to Ishnail's rooftop (enter Paper Mode before stepping up the bottles)
Note: You can try to land on top of the Shine and dupe it. It is pretty tricky to get on it, but there shouldn't be much risk in trying. If you do get the dupe, you can skip the Shine behind the houses in West Rogueport.
Note: If you don't have Jump Storage, either pay Gus 10 coins or use Spin Delay from Frankly's window to get past Gus without paying
Grab the Shine Sprite on the rooftop [35/42]
Clip into Bobbery’s house to get the Shine Sprite [36/42] One more Shine Sprite across the water (hover with Yoshi) [37/42]
Fall in the water to spawn in front of the Trouble Center Take on Ms. Mowz's trouble (up 3, labeled as "???")
Note: If you took on the trouble before going to the rooftops, you can spawn at the pipe more quickly: Void out by closing a textbox while falling in the water with Yoshi, or Flurrie Superslide on the right door
Head down the pipe back to Hooktail Castle Get the Up Arrow and Attack FX B
Note: You can hover across the gap past the open window to save about 1 second, but it is somewhat tight. If you fall, you can do the same backup that you would do for Window Jump.
Note: After taking the second green block up, you can Spring Jump to the rafters to skip the next yellow block.
Get the Shine Sprite at the top of the castle on the way back down [38/42] Drop the yellow block and fall with it to get back to the castle entrance
If you failed one Shine dupe, use Boat Mode or an extended Yoshi hover to get the Shine Sprite in the Blooper room
Climb up the inn and talk to Ms. Mowz on Zess T.'s rooftop Ms. Mowz joins your party
Push Bobbery on the stairs in the house to get the Shine Sprite behind the houses in West Rogueport [39/42]
Recommended: Enter and leave Westside Goods to prevent a crash when entering the Chapter 7 boss arena
Blow up the wall by the shop and dupe this Shine Sprite [41/42]
Go down the grate to west sewers
Teleporter Room Early
Note: You can do pretty much any method of TRE here. Many consider Super Jump to be the easiest method (get Jump Storage from pillar Star Piece). If you do Super Jump, you should pause in the area before going for the trick to get the pause lag out of the way. Unspin Clip is probably about 15 seconds faster if done flawlessly, but is a lot harder to get consistently.
Note: If you did TRE for a backup Jump Storage earlier, the door will just be open so you do not need to do TRE again.
[section=X-Naut Fortress]
Exit the teleporter room and go all the way left to get the first Card Key
Head right to the first room past the second elevator and read the red note to advance the game sequence to Chapter 7
Enter Grodus' office and get the Card Key Elevator Skip
Go to the left end of the hall and get the Card Key at the end of the tile room
Note: If you're catching the cycle by hovering with Yoshi, you have enough time to jump on a wrong tile once without losing time; you can do this if you're at 9 HP if you prefer to do Jump Storage in the factory room
If you are at 8 HP or less, you can get Jump Storage from the HP Drain (don't need to keep the HP Drain)
Go right and use the 3 Card Keys
Recommended: If you forgot to enter and leave Westside Goods, use Bobbery to hit the conveyor belt switch
Note: If you fall in jail when doing Conveyor Belt Skip, you can escape. You must then go through the background normally for the first trip.
If you got Jump Storage, Super Jump to the final Card Key
If you don't have Jump Storage, get First Struck by the X-Naut PhD to get clipped inside the fence (guard the attack if at 9-10 HP, Superguard otherwise) Jump onto the lift while still inside the fence and Spring Jump to reach the final Card Key
Spring Jump to the moving platforms (you can use Yoshi to hover on top of the Save Block to make this easier)
Hit the stair switch with Bobbery
You can work with any amount of HP entering the boss fight as long as you still have the Mushroom or Keel Mango (need at least 5 HP or exactly 1 HP if you don't have it)
If you have 1 HP (with Mushroom), 4-5 HP, or 9-10 HP, you must do an extra badge equip ➢ Unequip Ice Power (down 1 -> A) ➢ Unequip P-Up, D-Down (down 1 -> A) ➢ Equip Power Plus (down 2 -> A)
If you have 1 HP with no Mushroom/Keel Mango, swap to Vivian
Use the Card Key to enter the final room
The following badges should be equipped: ➢ Ice Power (unnecessary, and might not be equipped) ➢ P-Up, D-Down or Power Plus ➢ Mega Rush ➢ Power Rush ➢ Power Bounce ➢ Multibounce
Magnus von Grapple 2.0
HP = 1 ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 ➢ Partner: Use Mushroom on Mario, or Veil if Vivian is out ➢ Guard ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5
HP = 2 ➢ Mario: Defend ➢ Partner: Use Mushroom on Mario ➢ Don't guard ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 ➢ Partner: Swap to Yoshi ➢ Magnus detaches X-Punches ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 on Magnus
HP = 3 ➢ Mario: Swap to Vivian ➢ Partner: Use Mushroom on Mario ➢ Don't guard ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 ➢ Partner: Swap to Yoshi ➢ Magnus detaches X-Punches ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 on Magnus
HP = 4 This will use a 2-attack Peril setup, or if you have the Dried Shroom you can use that instead of the Mushroom for a 1-attack setup ➢ Mario: Defend ➢ Partner: Use Mushroom on Mario ➢ Guard ➢ Mario: Defend ➢ Partner: Swap partners ➢ Guard ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 ➢ Partner: Swap to Yoshi ➢ Magnus detaches X-Punches ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 on Magnus
HP = 5 ➢ Mario: Defend ➢ Partner: Swap partners ➢ Guard ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 ➢ Partner: Swap to Yoshi ➢ Magnus detaches X-Punches ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 on Magnus
HP = 6, 7, 8 ➢ Mario: Defend (if 8 HP, swap to Vivian) ➢ Partner: Swap partners ➢ Guard if at 6 HP (don't if 7 or 8 HP) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 ➢ Partner: Swap to Yoshi ➢ Magnus detaches X-Punches ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 on Magnus
HP = 9, 10 These will use a 2-attack Peril setup ➢ Mario: Defend ➢ Partner: Swap partners ➢ Guard for either HP ➢ Mario: Defend ➢ Partner: Swap partners ➢ Guard if 5 HP left (don't if 6 HP left) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 ➢ Partner: Swap to Yoshi ➢ Magnus detaches X-Punches ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 on Magnus
Level = 5.53
[section=Pre-Chapter 8]
Bowser Segment ➢ Inspect the lock on the Poshley Sanctum door
Take the elevator to Sublevel 4 and talk to TEC Head up to Sublevel 2 and go two rooms to the left Leave the X-Naut Fortress via the teleporter
Go left to trigger the e-mail (try to hop off Yoshi while running into it to get Jump Storage) Head up to the Shine Sprite behind Dazzle [42/42] Take the pipe up to East Rogueport
Talk to Merlon directly inside his house to give him the Up Arrow, then upgrade all partners (Yoshi last)
Head down to the Thousand-Year Door via east sewers
Use the Jammin' Jelly while entering Paper Mode ➢ If you still have the Mushroom from Chapter 6, the Jammin' Jelly should be down 1 + right 1 ➢ If you tossed or used that Mushroom, the Jammin' Jelly should be down 1
Enter the Palace of Shadow
[section=Palace of Shadow]
Run through the first two rooms
Sort Glitch or just use the Dried Shroom if you want
Get the Boo’s Sheet from the invisible block in the middle of the spinning fire bars near the Phantom Ember
Note: If you have 2 Boo's Sheets (i.e. have the one from Charlieton), you can skip the Boo's Sheet in fire bar room. If you go into Shadow Queen with less than 2 Life Shrooms, you need good Bomb Squad spacing to be safe with only 2 Boo's Sheets.
If you are not at 1 HP, take damage from fire bars until you are
Swap to Goombella before starting the Dark Bones fight
Dark Bones ➢ Mario: Multibounce (up 2) ➢ Goombella: Rally Wink (up 1) ➢ Mario: Jump x2 on Dark Bones Level 6.46 // BP = 15
Open the Badge menu ➢ Equip Power Plus (down 4 -> A) or P-Up, D-Down (down 2 -> A) (you want both of these badges equipped now) ➢ Swap to Yoshi
Get the Palace Key Run between the Bombshell Bills
Get First Struck by a Bullet Bill before the last set of cannons, don't guard it. You can then use i-frames to skip these cannons.
Note: If you don't have the Honey Syrup from Boggly Woods, get the Jammin' Jelly before the endless hallway. Item menus will assume you don't get the jelly here.
In the endless hallway, take the following path: Down, Down, Up, Up, Down, Up, Down
Fall in the water outside Riddle Tower until you have 1 HP ➢ Make sure you hit a respawn trigger. Holding straight right from the room entrance will not hit one, and will spawn you above the water. Falling in after the second Chain Chomp should be safe. ➢ Getting Peril here is about 1-2 seconds faster than the spike room after Palace Skip.
Head down the hall on the right to the room with the Phantom Embers
Note: Doing Palace Skip in the third hallway is probably ~20 seconds faster, but there is no floor below the loading zone so it's a bit riskier.
Hit the red switch and use Yoshi to reach the Palace Key
Note: If you want to be completely safe (i.e. accounting for bad Bomb Squad spacing), you need either 2 Life Shrooms + 2 Boo's Sheets or 1 Life Shroom + 3 Boo's Sheets. There is a Life Shroom to the right if you want more safety. With good Bomb Squad spacing, you can go with just 2 Boo's Sheets, no Life Shrooms necessary.
Inventory should be as follows (order will vary due to Sort Glitch, Life Shrooms, and Charlieton) ➢ Boo's Sheet ➢ Fire Flower ➢ Thunder Rage ➢ Boo's Sheet ➢ Life Shroom (or Boo's Sheet below Power Punch) ➢ Point Swap ➢ Point Swap ➢ Power Punch ➢ Honey Syrup ➢ Life Shroom
Use the spring to get back up Use the plane panel to reach the locked door Enter the throne room
The following badges should be equipped: ➢ Ice Power (unnecessary, and might not be equipped) ➢ P-Up, D-Down ➢ Power Plus ➢ Mega Rush ➢ Power Rush ➢ Power Bounce ➢ Multibounce (unnecessary)
[section=Grodus, Bowser, and Shadow Queen]
Note: Keep in mind that item menu inputs are a guideline and may vary, you cannot always just blindly follow them.
Grodus ➢ Yoshi: Fire Flower (down 1) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x6 Level = 6.86
Bowser and Kammy Koopa ➢ Yoshi: Boo’s Sheet (top, or up 3 if Charlieton) on Mario (having Yoshi in front skips some text after Bowser’s fire) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 on Kammy ➢ Bowser breathes fire ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x4 (saving the higher bounces for later skips some text) ➢ Yoshi: Honey Syrup (up 2) ➢ Guard Bowser’s bite if Yoshi is in front (to avoid the poison animation) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 Level = 7.38 // BP = 18
Open the Badge menu before Shadow Queen ➢ Unequip Ice Power (down 1 -> A) if you still have it on ➢ Equip Double Dip P (down 2 -> A) ➢ Equip Charge (R -> up 1 -> A [one less up input for every extra badge you bought from Charlieton]) ➢ Swap to Bobbery (or Goombella if you're doing Gloomtail Warp)
Optional: Gloomtail Warp (saves about 2 minutes optimally) (swap to Bobbery to store the spring bounce)
The following badges should be equipped: ➢ P-Up, D-Down ➢ Double Dip P ➢ Power Plus ➢ Mega Rush ➢ Power Rush ➢ Charge ➢ Power Bounce ➢ Multibounce (unnecessary)
Shadow Queen ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x4 ➢ Bobbery: Bomb Squad (down 1) ➢ Guard Shadow Queen's lightning (doesn't really matter unless a stage hazard hits Mario)
If Shadow Queen targeted Mario: ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5 (swap Mario to the back if any bombs are close to Mario and you only have 1 Boo’s Sheet) ➢ Bobbery: Swap to Ms. Mowz or Goombella (if any bombs are close to Mario and you have 2 Boo’s Sheets, Boo’s Sheet on Mario)
If Shadow Queen targeted Bobbery: ➢ Bobbery: Point Swap (up 3) on Mario ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x5
True Form ➢ Mario: Failed Jump on Dead Hand (have Mario in back if Bomb Squad only triggered 1 textbox and you only have 1 Boo’s Sheet) ➢ Partner: If Bomb Squad only triggered 1 textbox and you have 2 Boo's Sheets, use one on Mario. Otherwise, swap to Goombella or Defend if she is already out ➢ Bomb Squad ends phase (or Jump + Swap Partners until it ends, should be guaranteed to survive a turn as long as you have 2 Life Shrooms)
Note: You ideally want Goombella out at the end of this phase to have a fast backup in case you get 6-capped twice in the final phase. It's not a huge deal if a different partner is out as long as you still have at least 1 Life Shroom.
Crystal Star cutscene
Shadow Queen ➢ Mario: Charge (down 2) ➢ Partner: Double Dip (Thunder Rage [top or down 1] + Boo's Sheet [A or down 1] on Mario) ➢ Shadow Queen attacks ➢ Partner: Double Dip (Point Swap [down 1 or top] on Mario + Power Punch [down 1 or A] on Mario) ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x7 on Shadow Queen ➢ Shadow Queen attacks ➢ Mario: Power Bounce x6 on Shadow Queen (go for 7 if you got 6-capped last turn) ➢ If double 6-cap with Goombella out, Multibonk x6 (up 2) (Rally Wink -> Jump/Power Bounce if HP was stolen, if that can even happen with this strat) ➢ If double 6-cap without Goombella out: Boo's Sheet if you have one, Life Shroom -> Jump x2 otherwise (Supernova if HP was stolen) Level = 7.39
Mash through the epilogue Timing ends on the circular fade to black before the credits start (first fully black frame)
