Recovery block
Recovery block | |
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![]() Sprite from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions | |
First appearance | Paper Mario (2000) |
Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024) |
Effect | Recovers all HP and FP/BP/SP. |
A recovery block (also known as a Heart Block[1] or an HP Block[2]) is a type of block seen in the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series of Super Mario role-playing games. Recovery blocks are commonly found in areas where a Save Block is present and before the player enters a boss area, and they fully restore the player's refillable stats when struck.
History[edit]
Paper Mario series[edit]
Paper Mario[edit]
In Paper Mario, recovery blocks are transparent blocks with a sleeping red heart floating in the middle of each block. There are multiple different ones scattered throughout the game, each one refilling all of Mario's HP and FP when hit.
List of recovery blocks | |
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Goomba Village | In the back area with the broken veranda, past the gate. |
Goomba Road | In the eastern part of the second area. |
Pleasant Path | In the eastern part of the fifth area. |
Koopa Bros. Fortress | In the large jail cell in the eastern tower's basement. No longer accessible after a certain point. |
On the eastern part of the fortress roof, next to the Save Block. | |
Mt. Rugged | At the highest point of the first area, past the steps. |
Dry Dry Desert | At the eastern foothills of Mt. Rugged, next to the Save Block. |
In the oasis area; can be found two screens south of the entance to Dry Dry Outpost. | |
Dry Dry Ruins | Once the ruins appears, appears of the left side of the entance. |
In the middle of the descending stairway, once all three ruins stones have been set. | |
Boo's Mansion | To the left of the mansion's doorway. |
Gusty Gulch | In the western part of the fourth area. |
Tubba Blubba's Castle | In the castle's basement. |
On the third floor, in a room east of the large hallway. | |
Shy Guy's Toy Box | Southeast of the Red Station, next to the Save Block. |
Jade Jungle | East of Yoshi's Village; at the entranceway to Mt. Lavalava, across the gap. |
Mt. Lavalava | In the large room just before Lava Piranha's chamber, on the upper floor. |
Shiver Mountain | In the fourth area, east on the highest cliff after the ice stairways have formed. |
Crystal Palace | In the small room east of the room containing Albino Dinos. |
Bowser's Castle | In the jail cell after falling through the trapdoor set by the first Bowser Door. |
In the western part of the corridor, east of the grand hallway. |
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]
Recovery blocks return in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, only it now costs Mario five to twenty coins to use one, as indicated above each block. The amount of coins required generally increases as Mario progresses through the game. Their design is very similar to their appearance in Paper Mario. These blocks are usually, if not always, found right before a boss fight, and right when Mario enters a new area such as Hooktail Castle. In the Nintendo Switch remake only, Mario cannot use a recovery block if he and all of his partners' current HP and FP are at their maximums, preventing coin wastage.
List of recovery blocks | ||
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Location | Description | Price |
Rogueport Underground | In the Pit of 100 Trials entrance room (Nintendo Switch version only). | 10 coins |
Petal Meadows | Near the entrance of the yellow "star" fortress. | 5 coins |
Hooktail Castle | Upper floor of the gatehouse, on the left side. | 6 coins |
On the second floor of the castle (Nintendo Switch version only). | 10 coins | |
At the top of the castle spire, near the door to Hooktail's lair. | 6 coins | |
Boggly Woods | In the area with Flurrie's house, at the easternmost side. | 7 coins |
The Great Tree | In the entranceway, on the right side next to the Save Block. | 8 coins |
Inside Pungent's Great Tree Shop, near the door. | ||
At the bottommost chamber next to the Save Block. | ||
Creepy Steeple | In the first area, next to the Save Block. | 10 coins |
On the upper floor, in the room with the spiral stairway. | ||
Keelhaul Key | In the area with the mustached statues. | 12 coins |
Pirate's Grotto | In the cavern to the right of the sluice gate controls (Nintendo Switch version only). | 12 coins |
On the stern of the Black Skull. No longer appears after completing Chapter 5. | ||
Riverside Station | At the station's front entrance, next to the Save Block. | 15 coins |
X-Naut Fortress | In the entrance room on Level One, next to the Save Block. | 20 coins |
In the factory area on Sublevel Three, next to the Save Block in the middle of the area. | 10 coins (GCN) 20 coins (NS) | |
Palace of Shadow | Eastern side of the Fire Bar chamber (Nintendo Switch version only). | 20 coins |
In the Courtyard, east of the Save Block. In the Nintendo Switch version, the blocks have swapped places. | 10 coins | |
In the eastern side of the antechamber. | ||
At the bottom of the Depths leading to the Coffin Hall, next to the Save Block. |
Paper Mario: Sticker Star[edit]
Recovery blocks reappear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, though they only fully recover Mario's HP. They function the same way as they do in Paper Mario, allowing Mario to use them at any time for free.
Mario & Luigi series[edit]
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions[edit]
In the Japanese version of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga only, recovery blocks appear in three locations; Beanbean Castle Sewers, Oho Oasis, and Teehee Valley. They are white blocks with a red heart in the middle of the block. When hit, these blocks fully recover Mario and Luigi's HP and BP. The Nintendo 3DS remake of the game, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, retains the block in all versions of the game, and they are found in many more places, typically wherever there is a Save Album.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time[edit]
A few recovery blocks are found in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, though they are almost as scarce as in the Japanese version of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Their design in this game is that of a blue block with a magenta heart symbol in the middle of the block. There is one in Peach's Castle in the present, one inside Yoob's Belly, and one just before the throne room of Shroob Castle. As in Paper Mario, they are free to use.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey[edit]
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, recovery blocks are replaced with Shop Blocks that can only be activated by Bowser's punch. These blocks can release Negative Ions that fully recover Bowser's HP and SP/BP. Orange-colored Emoglobins that are found in a few locations of Bowser's body, like the Trash Pit, secrete sweat that instantly recovers all of Mario and Luigi's HP and SP/BP.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam[edit]
Recovery blocks make a return in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, appearing as rainbow-flashing rectangular blocks with a pink heart on their fronts. They are more common than in the first two installments and are usually placed near locations where bosses are fought (like near the giant door to the summit of Mount Brrr which is where King Bob-omb is fought) as well as in Toad Villages. If the Mario trio hit a recovery block, their HP and BP are both fully restored.
Gallery[edit]
Sprites and 3D Renders[edit]
Screenshots[edit]
Names in other languages[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | 回復ブロック Kaifuku Burokku |
Recovery Block | |
HP/BP全回復ブロック HP/ BP Zen Kaifuku Burokku |
HP/BP Full Recovery Block | ||
Italian | Blocco Cura[3] | Health Block | |
Blocco PV[4] | HP Block | ||
Blocco recupero[5] | Recovery block |
References[edit]
- ^ October 1, 2004. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Official Nintendo Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). ISBN 1-930206-51-8. Page 18.
- ^ von Esmarch, Nick (2012). Paper Mario: Sticker Star PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 978-0-307-89675-9. Page 13.
- ^ Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Italian manual. Page 11.
- ^ Paper Mario: Sticker Star Italian electronic manual, section 8
- ^ Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. Italian electronic manual