Pipe Vault

The Pipe Vault is a system of tunnels that leads to Yo'ster Isle in the game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The level is optional; Mario can simply bypass the Pipe Vault and move on to Moleville if he wishes. However, the Pipe Vault is the only way to get to Yo'ster Isle.

The Pipe Vault begins with a with a pit of lava filled with jumping Sparkys. In order to make it to the other side, Mario must traverse a series of platforms while dodging (or fighting) the Sparkys. If Mario slips and falls into the lava, he will have to go back to start and try again. After the first area, Mario will encounter pipes, treasures, puzzles, games and a even few enemies (which all are fairly weak). There is no boss in the Pipe Vault, as this level is optional and only needed to access Yo'ster Isle.

Goomba Thumping Game
The Goomba Thumping Game is a special mini-game run by a Mole entrepreneur from Moleville. He charges contestants ten coins to play the game, and if the contestant can reach a certain number of points, the Mole will give the contestant a special prize. Such prizes include Flower Tabs, Flower Jars, and Frog Coins.

In the game, Mario must jump on as many Goombas as he can in a thirty second time limit. The Goombas emerge from four pipes located in the small game room. For each Goomba Mario thumps, he will be awarded one point. However, Spikeys also emerge from the pipes, and if Mario jumps on one, he will lose one point. Rare Gold Goombas also emerge, and if Mario is fast enough, he can earn three points by stomping one. Since Gold Goombas move faster, Mario has less time to hit them. Additionally, the more points Mario earns, the faster all enemies become, making higher scores difficult to achieve.

If Mario can achieve the goal established by the Mole entrepreneur, the heroic plumber will win a prize. The first target is twenty points. Every goal after that is always two more points than Mario's current high score.

There are two strategies to achieve high scores in the Goomba Thumping Game. The first strategy is for Mario to stand in the middle of the four pipes. As Goombas emerge, Mario should jump to one pipe then return to the middle then jump to another pipe and return to the middle, etc. Another strategy is for Mario to stand on top of one pipe and jump every time a Goomba emerges.

Trivia
The Pipe Vault is considered a reference to the classic NES Mario platformers. For instance, the vault is home to the classical enemies of the Marioverse, including Goombas, Thwomps, Piranha Plants, Spikeys (Spinys), Sparkys (Podoboos), Chompweeds (Nipper Plants) and Shy Rangers (an elusive type of Shy Guy). In fact, the only enemy in the Pipe Vault that cannot be linked to the original platformers is Frogog, who only appears in Super Mario RPG. Additionally, the Pipe Vault is only one-square wide, creating a pseudo-two dimensional effect. At one point Mario must run and crouch to slide under a low block, just like in the original platformers. The background music is also reminiscent of the underground levels in the original Super Mario Bros.