The 'Shroom:Issue 225/Strategy Wing
Director's Notes
Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)
Hello, all you readers of The 'Shroom! Finally true to that banner up above these notes, Strategy Wing has set off into space with the rest of The 'Shroom to mark the end of the year. Unfortunately, space is rather crowded thanks to all of us launching off at once, and the radio reception's a bit lousy. I suppose one can't escape the holiday traffic anywhere, not even outside the atmosphere... Well, at least we have plenty of good reading material!
We have our full suite of regular sections for you this month, including plenty with extraterrestrial inspirations. From Killing the Killing Game Roles covering a powerset fit for a mind-altering alien to Four Steps for a 3D World drifting through cosmic debris, we have gifts for you straight from the stars. If you're looking to get back down to earth, though, we also have a puzzling boss battle in Brothership Boss Battle Guide, another final confrontation with Dr. Wily, and the very first war conducted by a burgeoning empire in So You Want to Romance the Three Kingdoms?. Whether your feet are firmly on the ground or your eyes are heaven-bound, Strategy Wing has you covered!
Welp, some kind of sensor's going off in the back of the shuttle, so I need to go investigate the issue. I'll leave you in the care of our wonderful team of writers. Until January, have a joyous and relaxing end of the year and enjoy the holidays!
Section of the Month
Just as suspected, the Coup of Gao Lan is already recognized by the public as a classic tale from the annals of history! Congratulations go to Lord Kong Rong's advisor Shoey (talk) on this stunning strategic victory and a Section of the Month victory. Tying this historical tale for first place, Sparks (talk) claims his own victories with his guide to triumphing over Wall Walkers, a Square, and Dr. Cossack himself. Rounding out our top three, Zange (talk) shows that sequels aren't always worse than the original with last month's collection of Rhythm Heaven minigame sequels. Congratulations to you three! Excellent work all around!
| STRATEGY WING SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | So You Want to Romance the Three Kingdoms? | 5 | 27.78% | Shoey (talk) |
| 1st | An Overly Detailed and Funny Walkthrough of Mega Man 4 | 5 | 27.78% | Sparks (talk) |
| 2nd | Rhythm Review | 4 | 22.22% | Zange (talk) |
Brothership Boss Battle Guide
'Tis the season for a brand new Brothership Boss Battle Guide! There's no better place to learn how to beat the bosses of Mario & Luigi: Brothership than right here in this Strategy Wing section. Just in time for Christmas, our next "boss" is the big and jolly Great Conductor, AKA the one who brought Mario and Luigi into Concordia! Why did I put "boss" in quotation marks? That's because this guy isn't really a boss, but the boss music still plays in his fight, so that's why he's here.
After defeating Glohm Bowser, Mario and Luigi flee from Fortress Zokket to avoid the Glohmatic Quad-Ray. The brothers jump off the fortress and wind up on Conductor Island. They encounter the Great Conductor as well, who tells them that it was he who brought them here, and that Snoutlet is his assistant! Most important of all is him revealing the identity of Zokket to be Cozette, Connie's mentor. Oh, and he's super proud of Luigi too! Anyways, he challenges the brothers' bonds to test if they're strong enough to defeat Zokket.
These are the stats of the Great Conductor!
Great Conductor's stats
| Image | Level | Location | HP | POW | DEF | SPD | Type | EXP | Coins | Item(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
36 | Conductor Island | 3600 | 173 | 138 | 133 | Normal | 9500 | 996 | 1-Up DX |
Great Conductor's abilities
First things first: The Great Conductor disables Battle Plugs for this battle. That makes this the only battle since Ten to not feature them. Less writing for me at least! There is not a Luigi Logic either.
This battle is played in two parts.
Part 1: Finding the real brother
The Great Conductor uses his powers to levitate a character (starting with Luigi) and cause them to disappear. He then brings cups containing the captured character and fake copies of them. The Great Conductor then tasks the free character to destroy the cup containing the real brother.
These are the stats of the Conductor Cups!
| Image | Level | Location | HP | POW | DEF | SPD | Type | EXP | Coins | Item(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
36 | Conductor Island | 366 | 173 | 138 | 133 | Normal | 0 | 0 | None |
Before Mario or Luigi gets their turn, the Great Conductor has the captured character and their clones perform various battle animations. The clones will perform incorrect animations, while the real one does the correct one. Due to the HP of the cups, it is not likely to break one with one attack. If no cup is broken, the Great Conductor attacks with the cups. There are two attacks that can occur:
Jump Defense: All the cups line up and charge at the free character in a line formation, with the Great Conductor following from behind the line. The free character must jump over the cups as they charge one by one. After the last cup, the Great Conductor is next. Because he is floating above the ground, he is avoided by staying still. Jumping into him will damage Mario/Luigi. Jumping on a cup will damage it as a counterattack, but because there isn't much time to avoid the next one, it's better to jump over them completely.
Hammer Defense: The Great Conductor flies up into the air before the cups group up in front of the free character. They "fight" each other by knocking each other out of the way, although they will never attack Mario/Luigi directly. After several seconds of this, the Great Conductor descends upon the character, causing the cups to get scared and flee. A counterattack must be performed on the Great Conductor to stop him from landing on the brother, which will also damage him if done successfully. The cups can also be attacked while they are around, but only counter when the cup containing the real character is in range. You don't want to hit the others.
When a cup is destroyed, one of two things will happen, depending if it's the real character or not:
- If a cup containing the captured character is destroyed, both Bros. will reunite and the Great Conductor will allow for them to perform a Bros. Attack against him. However, if the attack rating is less than "EXCELLENT!", the boss will recover all damage taken from the attack. Additionally, each Bros. Attack must be different too, otherwise he will heal.
- If a cup containing a fake copy is destroyed, the Bros. will seemingly reunite, but the copy will stop and attack the free character, dealing no damage. The Great Conductor will then zap the free character with an unavoidable lightning strike that deals damage. The captured character will then have their cup removed before they return to their position.
So... you want to save the captured character because it allows you to deal damage to the boss while you avoid taking damage! If the free character is defeated by an attack - including a lightning strike - then it will be an immediate game over. Don't let that happen!
Regardless if you're successful or not, the next round of "find the brother" will begin. There are four rounds total, each one having a different number of cups and animations to watch:
- Round 1: Two Luigis that perform jump animations
- Round 2: Three Marios that perform idle animations seen during battle (when it's not Mario's turn)
- Round 3: Four Luigis that perform thinking animations during battle (when it's Luigi's turn)
- Round 4: Four Marios that perform hammer defense animations
Part 2: Go all out!
After three correct guesses (with three EXCELLENT! attacks performed) or all four rounds have passed, the Great Conductor commands the Bros. to perform various Bros. Attacks while he charges up a big lightning attack. It takes three turns to charge, but once it's ready, the boss will use it to wipe out both Mario and Luigi, resulting in a game over.
Now, you have to get rid of the Great Conductor before he gets rid of you! You must perform different Bros. Attacks, and they all have to be EXCELLENTS! Once the Great Conductor loses all of his HP, the battle is won. Don't worry... he's perfectly fine.
Solutions
These four images show the real character to find during the first part of the battle!
Jumping Luigis: The real one jumps with one hand raised and both legs extended away from each other.
Idle Marios: The real one holds his arm while he spins it.
Thinking Luigis: The real one points upwards towards the Command Blocks.
Hammer defense Marios: The real one wields the hammer normally over his shoulders. Don't confuse it with Luigi's animation, which has a longer hammer held further away! Honestly, it's difficult to explain this one. Sorry...
Tips and tricks
Recommended gear
You're stranded on Conductor Island, so it makes sense that there's a peddler here! Here's the best gear he has to offer:
- Boots: Astonishing Boots
- Hammer: Astonishing Hammer
- Wear: Astonishing Wear
This gear is quite expensive however! If you can't afford it, that's alright. The equipment you had for the Glohm Bowser fight will suffice. You could also use the Double-Edged Boots and Hammers, but they're only slightly stronger and cause the Bros. to take damage when attacking... I wouldn't recommend them at this point honestly.
As for the gear you can't find in shops:
- Gobblick Boots DX: Stronger than the Astonishing Boots by four points and grants five points to STACHE. They also restore 10% of all damage dealt, so they're still useful even after Glohm Bowser. A nice reward for defeating Glohm Gobblick.
- Full-Belly Hammer DX: Stronger than the Astonishing Hammer by four points, and increases damage dealt by 30% when at full HP! Found in a ? Block on Conductor Island, so try to find it before the battle!
Use whatever gloves and accessories you wish! Bring ones that fit your playstyle.
Other things
Despite floating above the ground, the Great Conductor can still be hurt by attacks that only hit ground enemies. This includes the Green Shell and Clockout Blow Bros. Attacks.
Like I said earlier, it's better to dodge the cups when you have to defend by jumping, unless the last one contains the real Mario or Luigi.
Items aren't really needed in this fight, unless you have little BP.
The Great Conductor cannot be attacked while the cups are around. Additionally, he will recover from Jump and Hammer attacks, even if they're EXCELLENTS!
I hope you've been practicing your Bros. Attacks! You'll likely have to use ones you don't normally use, so make sure to practice up on your toughest Bros. Attacks before the fight.
Try to start off with your strongest attacks (think Clockout Blow and Yoo Who Cannon). They'll help speed up the fight.
If you deal enough damage, you can actually defeat the Great Conductor before the second part of the battle starts. I've done it!
During the attack when the cups group up, you can counter the same cup multiple times, resulting in lots of damage.
The Great Conductor still takes damage from counterattacks.
Yeah, this one was on the shorter side. The Great Conductor is my least favorite boss in the game, so I'm glad he's over with. We'll be starting 2026 with the second optional boss, Glohm Sharpcask, so that's something to look forward to! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good rest of 2025!
Killing the Killing Game Roles
Welcome back, readers, to another edition of Killing the Killing Game Roles, the section where we analyze various player roles from past Mario Boards Killing Games in hope of answering the question, what makes for a good role? By analyzing what's come before, we can discover some tricks and tips that could even help you design your own roles!
We're back for the final 'Shroom issue of the year, and with our out-of-this-world special theming, I knew I needed a role that connected straight to space. However, to date, there has been no Ultimate Astronaut or Astrologer role on the Mario Boards. I considered taking a look at an Awards Killing Game Odyssey role with the game's intimate connection to magic and stars, but with the limited time I have and the fuller analysis AKGO roles tend to necessitate, those ideas will be placed on the backburner. Instead, we're returning to the world of Awards Killing Game 3, where today's role may have just enough... alien qualities to qualify.
AKG3 - Ultimate Memory Manipulation Specialist
You are Beheeyem. You were working with your two partners to track down the target you had been ordered to capture, but you seem to have taken a wrong turn. You've been trapped in this Killing Game for now, but, with a little memory manipulation, you won't have a problem avoiding being lynched, will you?
- As Beheeyem, your primary power is your ability to alter people's memories. When you submit your night actions, you may submit a false memory, as simple or as detailed as you would like, which you would like to implant in the minds of other players. At one point in the night, you may flash the colorful lights on your hands, and anyone else who is present to see the flash will have the false memory implanted in their mind. The false memory will be reported in their night results as something they saw during the night, and will be completely indistinguishable from any true recollections. Of course, if you aren't careful, you could always introduce mutual contradictions, so beware of that.
- Since memory manipulation is a very powerful tool, you don't have many other powers. You can, however, use your flashing lights at any point during the night to attempt to blind or distract players. You can only insert a false memory once a night, but feel free to make use of your lights as often as you'd like.
- Finally, you have one power you may only use once in the game. During a day phase, you can tell the hosts that you'd like to set up Trick Room for the following night. Trick Room will be announced as a special weather condition at the start of the night phase, and players' speed stats will be effectively reversed. The fastest players will wake up latest and move slowest, and the slowest players will wake up the earliest and move the fastest.
- As a Beheeyem, you primarily rely on your psychic powers and you lack physical strength. However, you are surprisingly social and, your species having hidden in the Desert Resort for many years, stealthy.
- FA: Your ruse would be ruined completely if you were to give somebody a false memory about themself. How would somebody see their own self doing something across the room? You must take care not to give a player a false memory about their own actions.
Stats
- Strength - 1
- Stealth - 4
- Stamina - 3
- Speed - 3
- Social - 4
The Ultimate Memory Manipulation Specialist is drawn from the Pokémon Beheeyem, but specifically its depiction in the Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon game. This role came courtesy of Hooded Pitohui (talk), so I wouldn't be able to tell you more about the particulars of the character. What I can tell you is that the MMS was possessed by TPG (talk) for his stint in the Peach's Castle map. How does this role hold up today, and will I be psychically manipulated into calling it the best role ever made?
General Overview
As is apparent by role name and description, the Memory Manipulation Specialist has one centralizing role trait, with a few other powers surrounding it. This key aspect - the memory manipulation - places it in company with a few other roles that focus on messing with another player's interpretation of the night. I'm not sure what a good name for this archetype would be other than, well, memory manipulation. The Psychiatrist from AKGO is another example of this broader archetype, instead theming around amnesia and phobias applied through syringe injection. It's a pretty baseline concept, really: with people's eye witness accounts being some of the most important elements of KG investigation, why not incorporate a role that mixes up the believability of these accounts? In a larger player pool especially, where there's plenty of players to potentially witness someone's actions on the map, a memory manipulator's obscuring nature can be extra fun.
Although this is the main area of expertise, there is also the Trick Room role ability, which... forgive me if I'm mistaken in saying this, but I believe this might be the first role in a Mario Boards KG to produce a unique night/weather condition? There have been plenty since - AKG4 saw roles resulting in Bug Night and Clown Night, as examples - but for my money, I can't recall any from 'Shroom KG or AKG2 that would've caused a night effect. So good on the MMS for breaking new ground for our forum! And if that isn't true, we'll consider this a complimentary back pat anyhow for being one of the earlier examples.
Ability Application
So how do these traits interact with the game itself? We're starting with the big one first. With a simple flash of light, the Memory Manipulation Specialist can subplant a falsified memory of their exact description into the recipient's head. Notably, the role card mentions that the memory can be as detailed of a description as the MMS would like it to be. This is a huge boon for this role overall, and is perfect for establishing tricky false leads for the player's actions. For instance, let's say you plan to stab somebody with a kitchen knife. While camping out in the kitchen, you could flashbang somebody walking by with the memory of an entirely different player rooting around in the silverware drawer, including notable details about how they glance around before searching within. Or, you could give something the fake memory that you're KO'd in the corner, with a large bruise over your head, giving yourself an alibi for a potential gap in your testimony. There's also no pre-written limit to how long the memory has to be, meaning that you could reasonably falsify an entire sequence of events that never happened. This role ability is tailored towards a cunning player who's more willing to think of scenarios where their actions can be easily shrouded by the memory manipulation.
I think the aspect of a flash of light is really interesting too, mechanically. Rather than just targeting a singular player, you have the potential to target an entire room of people - or even more, if you have some way to magnify the light show. There's also the fact that light bends around certain shapes in certain ways, resulting in differing results of who might witness the flash. I like this interplay a lot, because it provides more environmental consideration than just a baseline "I put the memory in this person's head."
Then there's the flashes of light that don't produce memory. There's still some good use cases for these, despite their more limited scope. A distraction technique, for one, or an opportunity to put someone on the back foot if they're attacking you. Whereas the memory manipulation is more of an "active" ability, I see this one as a more "defensive" ability, a good passive back-pocket for its limited uses.
Finally, there's the Trick Room ability. AKG3 was hosted at a time when the Speed stat made a fairly notable impact on night actions; as you can tell, they facilitated the order in which people woke up for the night, and generally had an effect on the speed of actions. So a night element that inverts this dichotomy is interesting... but given that the Memory Manipulation Specialist has a 3 in speed, Trick Room actually has almost no bearing on the player using it. Therefore, it's hard to really imagine its versatility for the MMS, unless they're really privy to where somebody with 5 Speed ended their night. It makes me wonder how else this power could've operated - if it made every player but the MMS remarkably sluggish in one specific room where it's activated, for instance.
Environmental Functionality
In terms of environmental functionality... there's none to consider! This role, as currently written, would work perfectly fine on any KG map the host is designing. I suppose it would be helpful if the map had some other source of lighting, so the quick flashes aren't too disconcerting to other players? But every map has sources of lighting so that's not a concern whatsoever. Just don't design "Cave Where You Can't See Anything KG" and this'll be fine.
Drawbacks & Balances
Despite what seems like a pretty powerful ability, there is something substantial holding this role back: its disconnect to hard evidence.
Here's what I mean. Say the Memory Manipulation Specialist plants the memory in someone's head that there's a massive hole in the ceiling. Okay, great. But if someone goes to investigate that ceiling during the day phase, and there isn't a massive hole present, that's an obvious discrepancy between night results and daytime discoveries. Additionally, other player's night results could prove to be their own contradictory evidence. If you plant the false memory of someone being in a room, but that person was verifiably witnessed in another room by multiple players, your memory planting isn't going to hold much weight. There isn't an obvious, easy way to mitigate this. My best recommendation would probably be ensuring the room looks like how you're making it look in the memory - if you make someone think another player rifled through the silverware drawer, you better be sure to take a knife out of there. Still, this isn't a perfect fix, and means that there are some things this role simply cannot fabricate effectively. In some instances, it might lean more towards providing a minor investigative distraction, over providing the scene that makes a kill attempt viable.
There's also the matter of the flashing light used to activate the memory. If you use this role on multiple nights, there's a good chance players could puzzle out what the cause of the weird memories are. There are some creative workarounds to avoid this, though, like if you cover up the flash with a camera going off, or find some other reason to make it seem like the light was from another source.
Lastly, there's the Forbidden Action, where you cannot accidentally plant a false memory which describes a player, to the player it describes. If I'm making up something Pitohui did, I can't make Pitohui then witness it. This is mostly to add an interesting dynamic to its broader range or group use, and I honestly think it's a fun little bit of limitation. It necessitates more clever play to ensure that nobody's seeing themselves in their mind's eye if the MMS decides to use this role at a party.
Player Responsibility
For the player, they have the primary responsibility of using the memory manipulation smartly. That might seem silly to say; all roles come with the inherent responsibility of playing smart with them. But the Memory Manipulation Specialist comes with few guidelines and many stipulations. There's simultaneously expansiveness in how the memories can be handled and restrictiveness in how those memories are handled effectively. Essentially, the power of the MMS comes down to how the player a) crafts their fake memories and b) delivers those fake memories. If the player can effectively deliver in both areas, I'd say the MMS has a particular potency.
Host Responsibility
Host responsibility isn't as major of a concern for this role. The primary one would be whenever the Trick Room effect is activated, ensuring that the players' night actions are conducted accordingly. For the memory manipulation itself, its responsibility is really in the player's hands.
Overall Thoughts
On the whole, the Memory Manipulation Specialist is a mixed bag. In the current-day Killing Game sphere, this exact powerset would likely be seen as underpowered. Memories matter plenty, but evidence tends to matter more, and plenty of other roles outclass the MMS in what they can deliver physically. That being said, its promise of a confusion role is a compelling one, and I'd recommend reviewing this role as a baseline example of what one in this archetype can look like. With a little bit of buffing and a careful player's hand, a memory manipulator is sure to contribute to a fascinating Killing Game case.
That’s all for this month. Tune in next month for more Killing Game goodness!
Four Steps for a 3D World
Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)
When I think of Mario and outer space together, the first level to jump to my mind is the Space Junk Galaxy. Is it the most significant level in the Super Mario Galaxy duology? No. Does it execute on its ideas the best of any galaxy? I wouldn't say so. Does it provide any insight into how the developers of Super Mario Galaxy constructed missions? Well, yes, but I would point to other missions as case studies before it.
So what is it, then, that grips me about this level, and why am I highlighting it in this issue? Partially, it's the aesthetic of the galaxy. The planets and debris of the Space Junk Galaxy are spread thin; there is a sense of emptiness to the galaxy. There are few large planets here, and even the largest here lack the usual happy platforming playground feel of the grassy Honeyhive Galaxy or the lava-filled Melty Molten Galaxy or the icy mountain in the Freezeflame Galaxy. These planets lack atmospheres and lack the standard Mario level themes of lava, ice, castles, caves, water, grass, and desert. They are just isolated drifting junk and rocks, directly exposed to the vacuum of space. The galaxy even goes out of its way to make Mario feel exposed to the void of space, featuring fewer Launch Stars and forcing the player to cross the voids between planetoids by using Sling Pods and Pull Stars.
Between the emphasis on empty space and lovely music, the Space Junk Galaxy captures what Jacob Geller describes as the quiet sadness in Super Mario Galaxy. It is not the fast-paced athletic course or sandbox full of toys seen in the usual 3D Mario level. It may not illuminate the mission design principles of the game, but it speaks to the narrative and aesthetic aims and design principles of Super Mario Galaxy. I am not going to discuss how it fits into the narrative and aesthetic direction of Super Mario Galaxy in great detail; after all, this is a section about level design from a gameplay perspective. I will, however, touch lightly on the topic as we go.
We'll get there in due time, though. For now, let's jump into the mission. The very first mission a player has access to in the Fountain Dome - that is, the second world of the game - "Pull Star Path" emphasizes the emptiness of the Space Junk Galaxy by having Mario cross large fields of asteroids directly with Pull Stars. It's great as an introduction to the galaxy's aesthetics, but how well does it work in terms of gameplay?
| Step | Notes |
|---|---|
Skill Gate 
|
The mission begins with a simple, effective skill gate. Mario starts on a large, empty platform with a long crystal-like planet right in view. A single Pull Star separates the two, prompting the player to grab it and drift past it. It's a simple little test to make sure players can use Pull Stars to navigate stretches of space and to get players used to falling into a planetoid's gravity after using Pull Stars. |
Introduction 
|
The cylindrical shape of the crystal-like planet encourages players to cross to its other end and helps them acclimate to walking on small bodies where gravity permits walking on any part of the surface. On the far end, Pull Stars await. A series of Pull Stars lead the player through a small asteroid field. This is a pretty bog-standard Introduction. There are no threats here; failure results in falling back to the crystal-like planet with no consequence other than a minor loss of progress. There are some Star Bits and Coins scattered around to entice players to experiment with drifting past Pull Stars or using the pointer to collect Star Bits even while using Pull Stars. It's safe and lets players develop familiarity with a mechanic. If there were any question if this was an Introduction zone, the game files outright call this "G Capture Tutorial Zone"! |
So far, this is what we would expect from a mission. Unfortunately, things fall apart right after this (not too surprising, given that this game was developed before the four steps were discussed). Our usual four-step structure is only barely relevant to the remainder of the mission, so I'll approach the rest part-by-part.
| Step | Notes |
|---|---|
Star Chip Spheres 
|
At the end of the asteroid field, Mario is deposited on a trio of glassy spheres with some Zap Balls and five moving Star Chips. This is where the mission's secondary mechanical focus crystallizes. Alongside using Pull Stars to cross gaps, this mission focuses on making sure players can navigate small bodies with a spherical gravity field. Here, players jump between the three spheres and walk all around them to collect the Star Chips. It's an effective little test to ensure players can navigate spheres. It could almost be called a second Introduction section, though the Zap Balls do make it slightly more dangerous than normal. Once all the Star Chips are collected, a Launch Star shoots Mario through a crystal sticking out of one of the galaxy's few large planets, though he only flies by this planet on the way to a... |
Intermission 
|
...disused rocket drifting through space. This pit stop does reinforce the "spherical gravity fields surrounding small objects" element of the mission, but it doesn't do much to build on the idea or introduce new elements to it. For that reason, I wouldn't call it an example of the Development step. Gameplay-wise, the long, cylindrical shape of the rocket does draw players towards its prow (after starting on its aft), and that naturally guides players to the next bunch of Pull Stars. Other than that, this feels like a pause in the mission when it comes to gameplay. |
That moment where Mario smashes through a crystal during the planetary flyby between the three glass spheres and the rocket has little relevance to the mission's gameplay, but it helps to elucidate another of the mission's aims. This mission attempts to introduce the Space Junk Galaxy as a place. It tries to make the Space Junk Galaxy feel like an actual collection of drifting junk that Mario is visiting and exploring, rather than merely a collection of platforms that exist in service of the gameplay.
The first Super Mario Galaxy does this often, actually. Usually it does it by having the player start on the same planet in each mission of a larger galaxy, sometimes showing the starting planet undergoing changes. Before Space Junk, players see this in the Honeyhive Galaxy. The starting planet is welcoming and peaceful in its first mission, is disturbed by the dropping of large stone wheels in the second mission, and turned hostile by a full-on Mandibug invasion in the third. Later, Freezeflame Galaxy hammers home its theme by having hot and cold collide on its previously-peaceful starting planet, and the Melty Molten Galaxy introduces a galaxy-wide meteor storm by stripping away its Lil Cinders and some of its metal platforms to make it feel emptier and less lively during the bombardment. These little touches aren't as extensive as Super Mario Sunshine making whole story arcs for its NPCs across missions, but they make the larger galaxies of Super Mario Galaxy feel more developed as places that exist and change outside of Mario's visits than the levels of Galaxy 2 or 3D World. You can get a little elaboration on this in Quizmelon's special in this very issue.
Returning to our main topic, Space Junk Galaxy builds its sense of space by showing players glimpses of parts of the galaxy they do not visit in a given mission. The asteroid field players venture through at the beginning of the first mission reappears in the second, but the player ventures off in a different direction using a Launch Star on a Starshroom. The second mission asks players to eschew the familiar to confront an external threat that has breached the peaceful Space Junk Galaxy, reinforcing this by having Kamella's airships appear more lively than and better maintained than the abandoned rocket drifting through space in the first mission. Meanwhile, the large planet that players fly by in the first mission reappears in the third, rewarding players with the chance to explore it at long last and re-grounding them in the familiar. It returns in the third mission, because the third mission returns to focusing on the natural state of the Space Junk Galaxy.
As I see it, the flyby after the three spherical planets and the intermission on the rocket don't contribute to the mission's progression from a gameplay perspective - and that's okay! Instead, they contribute to building up the Space Junk Galaxy as a place. We don't usually venture outside of looking at a single mission, but to understand "Pull Star Path", we do have to step back and put it in dialogue with the galaxy's later missions.
All that said, there's more "Pull Star Path" to discuss!
| Step | Notes |
|---|---|
Joining of Mechanics 
|
The "next bunch of Pull Stars" are, interestingly, encased in glass spheres! This has potential, but its potential is woefully squandered. I can't help but think that, if this were moved later into the mission, it could make a good Twist section where the Pull Star focus of the mission and the "learning to walk on small, spherical surfaces" focus of the mission come together. Maybe the Star Chip hunt and the Zap Balls could have been saved for these planets, and these planets could have been spaced out a bit more to make their internal Pull Stars the only way to navigate between them. As they are actually implemented, though, these planets... just don't add much, only leading to a second bunch of Pull Stars in an asteroid-lined path. |
Development 
|
I'm being very, very generous in calling this a "Development" section. It's really just a slightly longer version of the asteroid field from the mission's start, with the only complication being one turn that players have to navigate. It's the bare minimum to qualify as Development. Some of the debris here is pretty, though. |
Penultimate Planet 
|
Past the second asteroid field, Mario falls onto the base of a T-shaped planet. One could possibly argue this develops on walking across the surface of unusual planetoids with spherical gravity fields, especially with some hidden ? Blocks on the other side of the T's stem, but I think that's a bit of a stretch. Players are guided towards the top of the T by arrows on the ground and the shape of the planet itself, contending with a few Spoings to reach it. At the top, there are some Toads (and a single Goomba) trapped in crystals that players must free in order to advance. It's a bit out of left field, with no indications the Toads are here beforehand, and the whole sequence feels set apart from the rest of the mission. |
At this point, I feel that the mission has lost its way in terms of gameplay progression. The Pull Star focus entirely disappears, and acclimating players to walking on small planetoids also begins to disappear as a focus. From a gameplay perspective, the shift to freeing Toads is inexplicable. It's a stark contrast to Space Junk's later missions, which have well-defined and well-developed mechanics like shell throwing or Sling Pod use. Yet, while questionable from a gameplay perspective, this segment of the mission again helps to develop the galaxy's narrative - and a narrative that stretches outside of this galaxy alone.
The appearance of the Spoings foreshadows the third mission of Space Junk Galaxy, where they appear in greater numbers and their silk becomes prominent in the form of Sling Pods. Tarantox, whose nest can be seen in the background of the previous missions, gets his reveal and his moment in the spotlight in the third mission. Having the Spoings appear in mission one establishes them as an internal threat. Unlike Kamella, they're already in Space Junk Galaxy, biding their time and quietly spreading to the point they infest much of the galaxy by the third mission.
What about the Toads? Well, the Toad Brigade reappears in the later missions of the Space Junk Galaxy, with their Starshrooms providing access to Launch Stars that whisk Mario away to, say, Kamella's fleet. This appearance helps to set those later appearances up, but it's also, subtly, an introduction to the Starshroom. After the Toads are encountered in the Honeyhive Galaxy, they don't appear much in the Terrace galaxies. Instead, they hang out on the Comet Observatory, working with the Lumas on some kind of spacecraft. Once the player obtains seven stars, they complete this spacecraft, with the Starshroom appearing in the Observatory's Garage. After collecting seven stars, players gain access to the optional Flipswitch Galaxy and the boss-focused Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor. Presumably, the developers didn't want players to miss the first appearance of a Starshroom in a galaxy, so they opted not to place it in the former, and they didn't feel it fit the tone of the latter. Space Junk Galaxy becomes an ideal candidate for introducing the Starshroom, being all but required for casual players advancing through new levels as quickly as possible while not having the tension of a major boss battle. This odd moment with the Toads is included to cap off the story of the Starshroom's construction.
Once again, to understand what this mission is doing, we have to place it in dialogue with other pieces of the game. This method won't help us much with the final portion of the mission, though.
| Step | Notes |
|---|---|
Ending 
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The mission concludes by sending Mario to a platform overlooking an empty void surrounded by floating blocks. Upon approaching the void, the blocks snap into place, forming a pathway. As Mario moves away, the blocks return to their original positions. This area tasks the player with navigating a self-assembling and self-destroying pathway in order to collect five Silver Stars. It has, ah, absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the mission. You'd think there might be some Pull Stars used to cross a gap somewhere, but, nope! This is entirely disconnected from the rest of the mission! It's fun, but it feels tacked-on, almost as if the developers didn't have a good idea for ending this mission and grafted on a different idea. |
Is "Pull Star Path" a well-designed mission when seen through the lens of our usual four steps? Not at all. Is it well-designed from a gameplay standpoint in general? Ehhh, it's a bit of a mishmash of underdeveloped ideas, so I wouldn't give it any commendations. At most, it's sufficient. It's sufficiently fun from a gameplay standpoint, but not groundbreaking or memorable.
No, what makes this mission memorable is the way it introduces the Space Junk Galaxy as a place. Its strength is in establishing the aesthetics and atmosphere of the galaxy, and setting up a narrative for the galaxy as a whole. I'm sure gameplay was a consideration for this mission's designers, but I do not think it was their sole consideration, or even their highest priority. Super Mario Galaxy has a unique blend of gameplay, aesthetic, and narrative that sets it apart from other 3D Mario games. It's a game that feels more intentional in its themes and narrative focus. It strives to be more than just a typical 3D Mario game - and I'm not the only one who feels that way! In trying to be more than a 3D platformer, Super Mario Galaxy necessarily grapples with a tension between establishing and advancing its narrative and themes and delivering the polished, breezy, and fun gameplay experience expected from Super Mario. Oftentimes, it finds elegant solutions to this tension and blends its gameplay and narrative magnificently. At other times, it sacrifices one of its goals for the benefit of the other. I think that happens here in "Pull Star Path"... but, then, the next two missions in the galaxy build upon the atmosphere and narrative it has set up while having tightly-designed gameplay progression, so I don't think that's to Space Junk Galaxy's detriment.
All of this is to say, what "Pull Star Path" teaches us is that, while it's important to always keep a level's mechanical progression in mind so you can present players with new and satisfying challenges, there are times it's okay to prioritize a level's aesthetics or narrative over introducing a new mechanic. With that cosmic lesson learned, four trapped Toads, three encased Pull Stars, two asteroid fields, and one lovely musical track in the form of "Space Junk Road", this has been Four Steps for a 3D World!
Rhythm Review
Hello and welcome back to Rhythm Review! This is Zange, and I have been so horrifically busy since Thanksgiving that it’s a miracle my sections got done this month! Not gonna dwell on that too much. Anyways, last month we covered Stage 6 of the original Rhythm Tengoku on the GBA, including our first remix with EVERY rhythm minigame! This month, we’re trucking right along into Stage 7. We’re still in sequel territory and it’s not getting any easier!
As a reminder: In most Rhythm Heaven games, a stage consists of four rhythm minigames, followed by one remix, in which all the other minigames in the stage are put together in a new way to new music. However, Rhythm Tengoku is weird and has five minigames in each stage instead of four, and there is still a remix. Let’s jump in!
Karate Man 2
Starting off the set is Karate Man 2! Karate Joe is back, baby! Much like the original Karate Man, you hit the A button to punch flowerpots and other objects that get thrown at you in rhythm. They’ve switched out the yellow background for purple, but otherwise it’s visually the same as well!
Gimmicks
The big gimmick here is that the tempo will shift throughout the song - it could be normal, it could slow down, it could speed up, anything is possible! Worth noting though, the tempo shifts are the same every time with one exception: the tempo of the music at the very end for the last input will always be random.
How to Get That Superb
The criteria for a Superb here is pretty simple: You need to have good timing when the song slows down and speeds up, and there’s an input near the end where the tempo is super slow that you need to hit perfectly. It sounds pretty simple, but this rhythm minigame is INSANELY strict when it comes to grading. Don’t be too shocked if it takes you a few good tries to get it…
Difficulty Rating
Hooo boy, we’re really getting into the tricky ones now… Due to the potential for the tempo shifts to throw players off and the insanely strict grading when it comes to getting a Superb, I’m giving this a 3/5.
Rhythm Tweezers 2
Next up, we have Rhythm Tweezers 2! I hope you enjoyed your first round of vegetable hair plucking, because there’s more of them this time! Similar to the original Rhythm Tweezers, you’ll hit either the A button or the D-pad to pluck out hairs from the vegetables in the rhythm presented to you. Pluck more hairs = more profit!!
Gimmicks
Some of the patterns here are significantly more complicated than what you see in the original. Don’t be surprised if you have to alternate between the A button and the D-pad here because I’m telling you now, it WILL happen.
How to Get That Superb
Pretty straightforward criteria here for a superb. You need to make sure you have good timing when plucking the long hairs, have good timing in sections where there’s a lot of hairs, and perfectly pluck the clump of three very close hairs at the end. It might take you a bit to nail the timing for the clump at the end, but a Superb here is very doable.
Difficulty Rating
We’ll give this a 2.5/5, as it is harder than the original but the grading here is more lenient compared to Karate Man 2.
Ninja no Shison
Moving on, we have Ninja no Shison! This time, you’re playing a man trying to defend his lady from a group of thugs! They’re chucking rocks instead of arrows, and the stick is your sword! It’s almost like you’re the descendant of the ninja if you think about it… Anyways, gameplay is identical to that of Ninja Bodyguard. Interesting to note that Remix 5 marks the debut of the visuals that are used here!
Gimmicks
Much like Rhythm Tweezers 2, many of the patterns you’ll see in Ninja no Shison are more complicated than what you’ll see in the original. This includes a five-rock strike and one instance where you need to block two rocks almost simultaneously.
How to Get That Superb
In order to get a Superb here, you have to be able to perfectly nail both the five-rock strike and the two near-simultaneous rocks, on top of having good timing throughout the rest of the rhythm minigame. This will probably take you a few tries, as the timing for both of those strikes is noooot particularly easy.
Difficulty Rating
I think we’re gonna go with a 2.7/5 here, that feels pretty fair in comparison to everything else happening in this set.
Night Walk 2
We now go to Night Walk 2! We’re once again going for a nice stroll among the stars! Just like the original Night Walk, you’ll hit the A button to jump in time to the music!
Gimmicks
Night Walk 2 brings us something truly devastating compared to the original: electric fish in the sky. If you hit the A button while you are right under one of these fish, you will get shocked and the rhythm minigame will immediately end. When you encounter one of these electric fish, you are supposed to NOT jump. It will not count as a miss if you do this.
How to Get That Superb
Much like the first Night Walk, as long as you’re able to make it to the end while staying consistently on beat with your jumps, you should be able to get the Superb here. As long as the electric fish don’t mess you up and make you start over, this should be a slam dunk.
Difficulty Rating
Even with the electric fish being here, this isn’t that much harder than the original… We’ll give this a 1.7/5
Marching Orders 2
Capping off our normal rhythm minigames in this set is Marching Orders 2! This time, you and your fellow soldiers are… dressed up as bunnies? And taking orders from girl also dressed like a bunny?? Weird game… Anyways, like the original Marching Orders, you’ll either march to the beat (A button), stop marching (B button), face right (right on the D-pad), or face left (left on the D-pad) depending on the commands given. Time to march our cute bunny selves to victory!
Gimmicks
For starters, this sequel is significantly longer than the original. Additionally, some of the commands are shouted quickly, meaning you’ll have less time to react. There are also a few instances near the end where you will have to turn your head in a given direction while you are marching. Talk about a bump in difficulty…
How to Get That Superb
Okay, the criteria for getting a Superb here are a liiiittle different compared to the original. Part of it is actually remembering all the cues from the original, since there’s not any new ones introduced. Additionally, you need to be able to have consistently good timing on your marches, and good timing on the head turns even while marching. This should be a fairly easy one to get, though a refresher on the Japanese words for ‘left’ and ‘right’ might be helpful before going into this.
Difficulty Rating
Crazy to think the original of this was all the way back in Stage 1… Anyways, I’m gonna give this a 1.8/5, because it is a bit more difficult than the original and the extended length absolutely contributes to that.
Remix 7
We’ve finally reached the remix for this stage! This particular remix is unique in that it’s not quite a remix of rhythm minigames, it’s actually a remix of remixes! That’s right, the background music for this remix is a medley of the songs from Remixes 1,2 and 4. The gameplay tries to blend elements of the original remixes with new things that weren’t in the originals. It’s actually an incredible concept for a remix and I’m kind of sad that it hasn’t been done again since. (sidenote Rhythm Heaven Groove was NOT released at the time of writing, so it’s still possible…!)
Gimmicks
We didn’t really discuss this with Remix 6 due to the special nature of that one, but with remixes that appear in sequel sets, they don’t just remix the rhythm minigames in that set. They can remix ANY of the rhythm minigames that have appeared in the game. So stay on your toes here, because anything and everything is fair game! Not really a gameplay gimmick, but this remix also introduces visuals for a handful of rhythm minigames that aren’t seen anywhere else.
How to Get That Superb
You’re probably sick and tired of hearing me say this by now but I’m gonna say it anyways: This is a remix! All remixes use the same lines of text depending on what result you get, so it’s a lot harder to tell where the line is between a Superb and an OK. However, if you’ve gotten a majority of Superbs up to this point, you’ll probably get it here too.
Difficulty Rating
Maaaan some of these transitions are snappy… This feels about on the same level as the last remix, so we’ll give it a 3.2/5.
Final Remarks
I’m slowly realizing that most of the sequels in this stage come from Stage 1 and I don’t know how I feel about that… I do enjoy the changes they made to make them more difficult though; it makes them feel very distinct in that manner. We’re almost at the last stage of the game though, and there are certainly some doozies in there. I’ll see you back here next month for Stage 8!
Pitohui's Pokémon Academy
Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)
Salutations, class. I presume you're excited for the holidays, yes? December is truly a wonderful time of the year, what with the cheer, and the chill, and the end of the term. The lengthened nights and cool air make this time of year ideal for camping beneath the great expanse of the sky and admiring the celestial dome. The luminous stars and the beautiful moon stoke the imagination. With their great sizes and the vast distances between them, they inspire awe. With their transiting across our sky and allowing us to trace out patterns, they inspire whimsy. Who among us has not, at some point or another, imagined a creature descending to the Earth on the back of a streaking meteorite?
Perhaps one day we shall find such creatures... or perhaps, we will discover, that they are already in our midst. For ages it has been speculated that the Cleffa line which now populates this planet came to us from beyond the stars. Now, one must always keep a healthy skepticism regarding so fantastical a claim, but... I must admit, once one witnesses a sparkling Mega Clefable in flight, the fantastical begins to feel concerningly plausible.
We have much yet to discuss, so I will belabor the point no longer. To close out this year with a surprise, I have brought along a Clefable... as well as its Mega Stone, the Clefablite. For today's session, our topic will be raising a Mega Clefable. This, however, will require that we familiarize ourselves with new paradigms in battling, acclimatizing ourselves to the fast-paced battles practiced in Lumiose City. Shall we begin?
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The following information applies to Pokémon Legends Z-A | 
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It sounds simple on the surface, and in practice, it... remains simple. It does, however, require re-evaluating certain moves or strategies, and throwing out past assumptions regarding how particular moves function. I do not intend to overwhelm you by launching into every detail and particular case right this moment. Truthfully, the system is so new that I don't know all of its finer details either! Just know for now that Abilities do not exist in Legends Z-A (put an asterisk on that for the future), so we will not be covering them here. We will discuss a few other new elements that must be considered when selecting a moveset later, and will touch upon other changes to the battle system or particular moves as they become relevant.
What I will add here is that the format of competitive battles (dropping the flavoring for a moment - player vs. player battles) is markedly different than past games. Here, battles take the form of a timed battle royale with up to four participants. Participants are limited to three switch-outs over the course of the battle, making deciding when to swap a Pokémon an important strategic decision. Landing the blow which KOs an opposing Pokémon earns you a point. Whoever has the most points when time expires wins. This makes having a strategy for scoring KOs on weakened foes vitally important. All of that said, however... I am not the most qualified to instruct you in competitive battling, and I will not attempt to do so. As always, we will discuss general strategies for raising Pokémon, which you can try out, learn from, and improve as you wish.
To close out this preamble, I'd like to express gratitude to the Bulbagarden Archives, from which the images used here are sourced. IVs, EVs, and the like remain relevant in Lumiose, so our usual reference for terminology can be found below!
Base Stats: Base stats are the values associated with a particular Pokémon species, and are the same across every individual Pokémon of a given species. You have no influence on them. You can think of them as traits tied to a species. A chimp isn't ever going to be able to get as good as digging as a mole will be, and, likewise, an Abra is never going to have the defensive prowess a Shuckle has.
Individual Values (IVs): Individual values, as their name implies, are associated with individual Pokémon. They range from 0 to 31 in each stat, with 31 being considered a "perfect" IV and higher numbers corresponding to different stats. Magikarp A and Magikarp B will have the same base stats, but they may very well have different IVs. To stick with the animal analogy, one mole may be born with larger claws than another mole, and that first mole is probably going to have an easier time digging through dirt than the latter. Individual values are set in stone, strictly speaking, but you can use Hyper Training (from Generation VII onwards) to functionally get a perfect IV in a stat.
Effort Values (EVs): Effort values are the one thing you can easily change. A Pokémon can earn, primarily through battling, but also through means like the use of certain items or mechanics like Super Training, up to a total of 510 effort values, with up to 252 in any given stat. To finish off the animal analogy, no matter what kind of claws a mole is born with, moles who have more experience digging are probably going to be better at digging than moles which have never dug.
Nature: A Pokémon's nature is, more or a less, a stat modifier with a name meant to make it sound like a Pokémon has some personality. Natures will raise one stat by ten percent and lower another stat by ten percent. Some natures raise and lower the same stat, canceling out the effect and leaving stats unchanged. Natures can be functionally changed with the use of special mint items from Generation VIII onwards.
STAB: STAB stands for Same-Type Attack Bonus, and refers to the boosted power of moves that match the type of the move's user. To illustrate this, consider the case of a Lombre, a dual-type Pokémon which is both a Water-type and a Grass-type. Any Water-type moves Lombre uses will have their power boosted by 1.5x, and any Grass-type moves Lombre uses will, likewise, have their power boosted by 1.5x. (There are circumstances where this does not apply, and, while the 1.5x multiplier is typical, some games use other multipliers.)
Finally, we can turn to Clefable! Now, to begin with, we're going to equip Clefable with its Mega Stone, allowing it to Mega Evolve once the Mega Gauge is full. One fills the Mega Gauge by using moves or collecting Mega Energy orbs that appear on the field. The Mega Gauge is shared by the party, so to make the most of Mega Clefable, you'll either need to lead off with a different Pokémon and hold Clefable in reserve while the gauge builds up or you'll need to have Clefable in battle for some time. For this reason, it's worth considering Clefable's base stats alongside Mega Clefable's.
Fortunately, Clefable's base stats and Mega Clefable's base stats have the same overall leanings, simplifying matters. Whether Mega Evolved or not, Clefable's highest stat is special attack, then it has strong HP and special defense while lacking in attack and speed. Physical defense is middling in its base form but grows to a respectable 93. Putting it all together, Clefable is a bulky special attacker. To take advantage of that massive special attack, we'll invest maximally into it, ensuring it has a 31 IV and 252 EVs.
We then turn to the question of which defensive stat(s) to invest in. You might think it worthwhile to invest maximally into special defense, since it is Clefable's next highest stat. That could make Clefable a formidable obstacle to special attackers, but... the greatest threats to Mega Clefable are physical. Its five weaknesses are Ice, Electric, Rock, Poison, and Steel. The latter three types heavily lean physical, and Steel-types are a very common sight. Steel-types are Mega Clefable's biggest concern, and special defense investment does little to aid it against them. You might think we'd invest in defense, then, but we do want to take advantage of that high special defense too, so let's split the difference and invest maximally in HP. The remaining EVs can go towards further bolstering special defense.
As a tip, if you're pressed on time and want to save some EV grinding, you can catch an Alpha Clefairy in Wild Zone 19 at night. As an Alpha Pokémon, it will come with its HP EVs already maxed out, and it will have a selection of three 31 IVs. Although, you may want to avoid it and Hyper Train a smaller specimen if you plan to use it competitively. Large Pokémon make easier targets, and with Clefable being a special attacker that avoids close-range combat, it doesn't benefit much from its larger size. This new style of battling certainly creates new considerations that we must learn to navigate together!
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Name: | Mega Clefable | Base HP: | 95 | |
| Category: | Fairy | Base Attack: | 80 | ||
| Type: | Fairy | Flying | Base Defense: | 93 | |
| Item | Clefablite 
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Base Special Attack: | 135 | ||
| Notes: | N/A | Base Special Defense: | 110 | ||
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Base Speed: | 70 | |||
As for a nature, we want one which drops attack, since we won't be using that stat. We don't need a speed increase, so we can throw out Timid, leaving us with Modest (+sp. att.), Bold (+def), or Calm (+sp. def). To, again, maximize Mega Clefable's KO potential, I suggest Modest, but do feel free to experiment.
| Level: 58 | HP IV | 31 | HP EVs: | 252 | HP: | 232 | ||
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Attack IV | 31 | Attack EVs: | 0 | Attack: | 103 | ||
| Defense IV | 31 | Defense EVs: | 0 | Defense: | 130 | |||
| Special Attac | ||||||||