Petal Meadows

Petal Meadows (know as Star Crystal Field in the demo disk of the game) is a small area in the east, which leads to Petalburg, Shhwonk Fortress and Hooktail Castle in the game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Mario can reach this area by going through a certain gray Warp Pipe found in Rogueport Sewers. The plateau is filled with many flowers, trees, and Candy Canes. The enemies found here include Goombas (as well as Goomba sub-species) and Koopa Troopas. It's the only place where Horsetails can be retrieved. The full description on the game's map reads, "Meadows that lie far to the east of Rogueport. It's a warm and flowery place."

Petal Meadows is similar to Pleasant Path in Paper Mario.

Areas
Mario and Goombella first enter Petal Meadows from the stony pipe in Rogueport Sewers. The first scene is straight; Mario can hit the left tree next to the Save Block and obtain a Star Piece and the right one for a Mushroom. Another Mushroom is found in a ? Block. When Mario and Goombella run across the grass, they hear a roar as Hooktail flies above them. Hooktail flies into the background and into her castle.

When Mario, Goombella, and Koops come to the stones, they have to place the Sun Stone and the Moon Stone in their proper slots, after which two ! Switches appear. A blue inscription magically appears on the Warp Pipe-shaped stone, which reads:

"'Here beginneth the path to dread Hooktail Castle. Weaklings, retreateth! Ye who seeketh to proceed: a power of two must hitteth both switches simultaneously. red If ye are a Petalburg Koopa, huzzah! Your HOLD ability maketh this chore a snap!'"

Mario can press the switches simultaneously by using Koops' Shell Toss ability to hold when he jumps or swings his hammer. After activating the switches, the ground starts to vibrate and the stone is uncarved and reveals a real Warp Pipe to Hooktail Castle in the background.

In the second scene, there are three Goomba types in the yellow grass: regular Goombas, Paragoombas, and Spiky Goombas. There is a red ? Block that contains the Close Call badge, as well as a pipe that leads Mario up to the tall pipe where he can obtain the Happy Heart badge on top of a high Brick Block by using Koops. Mario can hammer the Candy Pop at the end of scene ten times to obtain Horsetails.

In the third scene, Goombella tells Mario that he can use her Tattle ability by pressing to obtain information about the area. The pair then reach a river, and the only way to get across is to access the Warp Pipe behind the two clumps of grass to reach the background of the scene, where Mario can jump on a blue ! Switch that creates a red and purple wooden bridge. In the far right of the background, he can find a Star Piece. After the bridge, the player can find a Mystery in the second grassy bush and a Fire Flower in a yellow ? Block. The pair make their way to the gate of Petalburg. After Mario and Goombella's stone key quest, they head back to the start when they are stopped by Koops. He successfully overcomes his timidness to tell Mario if he can go to Hooktail Castle to avenge his long-gone father for everyone, including his girlfriend. Koops then joins the party.

In the fourth scene, Mario approaches Shhwonk Fortress when the area gets a little darker. A Star Piece can be found in the first northern clump of grass and a POW Block in a ? Block on the ground. Mario also encounters red Koopa Troopas as common enemies. He eventually passes through destroyed walls and enters some small purple ruins.

The fifth scene takes place inside the ruins with pedestals that hold a pair of Bald Clefts. If Mario and Goombella defeat them, the dungeon door rises up and the pair can proceed.

According to Goombella in the sixth scene, Mario has to be careful with HP being low, and there are a few Koopa Troopas and Goombas. This scene only has a POW Block item hidden in the bush next to the dark pink ruins entrance. The two pass through the destroyed walls again and enter some dark pink ruins.

The seventh scene takes place inside the second ruins with pedestals that hold a pair of Bristles. If Mario and Goombella defeat them, the door rises and they can continue.

In the eighth and last scene, there is the main entrance to the fortress. Along the way, the pair bump into a few enemies. They can collect the Inn Coupon behind a broken wall and next to it is a ? Block that holds another Fire Flower. At the end of the path, they can use their first Recovery Block to restore HP and FP.

Enemies

 * For enemy formations in Petal Meadows, see here.


 * Goomba
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Paragoomba
 * Spiky Goomba
 * Bristle
 * Bald Cleft
 * Cleft (fought if incorrectly answered the Thwomp's questions three times)

Area Tattles

 * ''Ah, the Petal Meadows. A plateau surrounded by hills far to the east of Rogueport. It's mild and pleasant here all year round. I love it! Doesn't it feel nice? ...Oh, hey, and Mario? If you hit a tree, sometimes something good falls out. I know that came out of left field, but I mean it! If you see a tree, smack it!
 * ''Ah, the Petal Meadows. The scenery's super-nice, but be careful of all the Goombas. Make sure you've always got enough HP and FP to fight, will ya? Oh, and you can press to check your stats, too.
 * ''The river running through here totally makes the air crisp and refreshing. Hey, and by the way, Mario, have you tried checking the grass around here? Sometimes those clumps of grass hide good stuff, so always check them with !
 * ''This path leads to Shhwonk Fortress. ...Is it just me, or is this area darker? There are enemies around, so if you feel weak, remember to take it easy, OK?
 * ''This is part of Shhwonk Fortress. We got a couple pedestals here. That's it. It looks pretty decent, but this place is actually insanely old, did you know that? I'd say it was built about... a thousand years ago. Yup. What vibrant ruins!
 * ''This is the path to Shhwonk Fortress. The air here's a bit stale, don'tcha think? Oh, yeah, and listen, Mario... Remember, you don't have to attack every enemy you see. If you have low HP, you might just wanna avoid them. That's Exploring 101, y'know?
 * ''This is part of Shhwonk Fortress. We got a couple pedestals here. That's it. Still, to archaeologists, this place is a gold mine. I gotta come back sometime...
 * ''This is the path to Shhwonk Fortress. The main entrance is just over there. There's a recovery block there, too. If your HP and FP are low, hit it, OK?

Trivia

 * The background music used in Petal Meadows seems to include interludes of the bonus area theme as played in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros.
 * The background used outside of the Mario Bros.' House in Super Paper Mario would appear to have been modeled after that of Petal Meadows, retaining its dark, swirly areas featured on clouds and light blue lines through the sky.