Paper Mario: Color Burst

Paper Mario: Color Burst is the seventh game in the Paper Mario series. It is the sequel to Paper Mario: Color Splash, almost directly following the events of that game.
== Story ==
=== Extensions from Color Splash ===
Paper Mario: Color Splash didn’t exactly leave many dangling threads to go off. Huey left (and eventually died), Bowser returned to normal, all the black paint was gone, all the Big Paint Stars were back, and everything was back to normal. 
But there was one thing that allows a sequel to be made. And that is.... 
MR. CAN. 
In prologue of the original, Peach calls Huey Mr. Can, and Huey says “Mr. Can is my father. You can call me Huey!” And all throughout the game, we never heard anything more from Huey about Mr. Can. I know, it’s barely even a thing, but I need something to go off. 
There are a few other minor things that will help, like Bowser Jr’s mysterious absence despite his presence in Sticker Star and Origami King, and the mass amounts of black paint that are probably just floating around in space after Huey’s death. But that’s basically it. 
=== Prologue ===
Mario is relaxing at home with Luigi during a thunderstorm, when he hears a tiny knock at the door. He opens it to see the Mailtoad from the original game cowering in a cloak and holding a letter. He gives Mario the letter and goes off back to Prism Island, while Mario and Luigi open the letter. It reads: 
Dear the Mario Bros. 
I have heard the news of my son Huey’s disappearance. Hopefully this letter will bring us both consolations. 
But for other news, there is an urgent problem going on. I am afraid I do not quite have time to disclose too much information at this time, but I felt that you both would be able to help. Find me in the Crystal Harbor in the center of Spectrum Isles. I will meet you there. Also, beware the . 
-Mr. Can 
Looking closely at the letter, Mario sees that there is a splotch of black paint over the end of the letter. This is obviously very worrying considering the whole black paint mess from the original game. He rushed off with Luigi in the boat from the original, and the title screen flashes over the water as they leave. 
The pair arrives in the Crystal Harbor to silence, which heavily worries Mario because that was what they came to at the beginning of the first game. There aren’t any colorless splotches, but Mario does find a small circle of black paint on the ground. The two rush to the center of the square. 
When they go to the center of the square, they see chaos. Toads running around the square and away from quickly approaching black paint, the apparent Mr. Can fighting against a huge star-shaped blob of black paint, and the blob sinking into the ground, spreading black paint through it. Mr. Can notices Mario and asks him for help. Mario runs up to the big blob and attempts to hammer it, but the moment it makes contact, a stream of black paint floods through the hammer and essentially melts it. 
After this, the black paint flowing through the ground rises up out of the ground and knocks Mario, Luigi and Mr. Can across the map. Luigi flies to the northwest and into the Arctic Crest and Mario and Mr. Can fly to the southeast and into the Scarlet Heath. 
Seeing Mario, Mr. Can explains the situation. Apparently, after Huey’s sacrifice, the black paint left in space afterward combined itself with starlight to become a Big Paint Star. It then came back to this land and took refuge in the Spectrum Isles, the sister island to Prism Island. It came down to the Crystal Harbor and began infecting the ground with its black paint. The Toads living there ran, but most were engulfed by the Black Paint and became Blackened Souls, zombie-like husks of their former selves that were controlled by the black paint. In the original game, Bowser turned into a Blackened Soul. 
As Mr. Can explains, every Big Paint Star commands a different force of nature and embodies a different emotion. The Red Big Paint Star commands warmth and embodies anger, the Yellow Big Paint Star commands light and embodies joy, the Blue Big Paint Star commands all fluids and embodies sadness, the Purple Big Paint Star commands weather and embodies fear, the Orange Big Paint Star commands earthly things like soil, rock and sand and embodies energy, the Green Big Paint Star commands all natural things like plants and animals and embodies guilt, the new Black Big Paint Star commands darkness and embodies all negative emotions, and the apparent White Big Paint Star commands purity and embodies all positive emotions. 
The White Big Paint Star is the hidden seventh Big Paint Star. The first six were held in Port Prisma (before the whole black paint ordeal) and were created by a combination of the original two Big Paint Stars from the olden times, the Black and White Big Paint Stars. After the Black Big Paint Star attempted to take control over everything, the White Big Paint Star used its purification abilities to dispel the darkness within its partner, destroying the Black Big Paint Star. After this, the White Big Paint Star did the same thing as the Black Big Paint Star tried to in order to bring about purity into the world, and to ensure that the Black Big Paint Star could never reform. After Bowser brought about a new batch of black paint and the black paint was brought outside the barrier of purity the White Big Paint Star created, the Black Big Paint Star was able to use some of the star energy from the starlight of some nearby stars to reshape itself. 
In order to stop the Black Big Paint Star from successfully darkening the world, they must find the 6 other Big Paint Stars that the Black Big Paint Star has captured, as well as find the ultimate source of white paint in the world, which requires the star energy within the 6 Big Paint Stars. 
After this, Mr. Can says that he shall not let his son’s sacrifice go in vain, and vows to do anything in his power to aid Mario in stopping the Black Big Paint Star for good. After this, he joins Mario and explains that the Red Big Paint Star will be the first one for them to find, as its fire control will be needed to reach the other 5. 
Mario and Mr. Can start making their way through the Scarlet Heath before eventually encountering the first Blackened Soul. Frantically, Mr. Can gives Mario the stock of Battle Cards that he managed to collect before they got launched there, and explains the battle system. To shorten it, Mario defeats the Blackened Soul, and he and Mr. can continue through the Scarlet Heath, fighting more Blackened Souls along the way, eventually finding a small splotch of clear paint. This clear paint makes it seem as if there is a hole in the ground, but in reality, the grass is just made clear from the paint.
Mr. Can and Mario go to examine the "hole," when they realize that the hole is just clear paint. Mr. Can shows excitement for this, saying that with clear paint, they can take away the splotches of black paint the Black Big Paint Star is creating. When Mario hitting the clear paint with his hammer, it absorbs the clear paint, becoming translucent. From here, Mario can take away all the black paint in the land by hitting it with his Clear Paint Hammer.
Eventually, the pair make their way to the end of the Scarlet Heath, finding the Scarlet Mini Paint Star. Mr. Can says that the fact that a Mini Paint Star being there and not a Big Paint Star is not good, as that means the Big Paint Stars have been scattered across the land yet again, and because the Mini Paint Star is a specific shade of red, that means at least the Red Big Paint Star is steadily losing its shades.
Apparently, the core of each Big Paint Star is made up of several Mini Paint Stars of various shades of the base color, and these shades allow them to embody different shades of red, like Scarlet, Cherry, or Ruby. In the original game, they didn't lose these shades, only bits of the base color split into many Mini Paint Stars, but this time, they have lost their individual shades. This means, in order to use the individual powers of each Big Paint Star, they must regain all of their shades.
After collecting the Scarlet Mini Paint Star, Mario goes to the world map, which is covered in a thick coat of black paint. The Scarlet Mini Paint Star swirls around the Scarlet Heath, making the coat of black paint over it disappear, and the entrance to the next area's coat as well. On the map, Mr. Can explains that as they collect more Mini Paint Stars, the coat of black paint over the land will steadily disappear, but the individual splotches of black paint in the individual areas will remain. As the coat disappears, more areas will become available, and they'll eventually be able to access the areas that hold the Big Paint Stars. From here, Mario can go back into the Scarlet Heath, or enter the next area, the Vermillion Plateau, to begin the first chapter.
=== Chapter 1: A Lack of Being ===
The first chapter is pretty basic. Helps you learn the battle system through regular battles and boss battles, helps you learn the clear paint system with black paint splotches, and extends the map plenty, eventually allowing you to access the Ruby Pillar, defeat the red paint-infected Morton, and gain the Big Paint Star. But, to not make each individual chapter section here incredibly short, how about we go over what happens in each area in the first chapter?
Before doing so, I suppose I should go over the special thing about this chapter that gives it its name. The Red Big Paint Star's power is command over warmth, including fire, emotions, and the general soul within everyone. Since its powers have fizzled out without its shades, the warmth all throughout the first chapter is gone, meaning no flames, no feelings, and no actual being within even those that escaped the black paint. Once you save the Red Big Paint Star and it regains its shades, the warmth in the land returns. But, before that, all the people throughout Chapter 1 have... a lack of being.
==== Vermillion Plateau ====
In the Vermillion Plateau, Mario finds a few Toads that escaped the streams of black paint, making the area one of the more upbeat in the game. But all good things come to an end, as towards the end of the area, Mario finds himself surrounded by multiple streams of black paint, and he can't use his Clear Paint Hammer to fend them off. Fortunately, a strange figure comes to his aid, blocking off a single stream of black paint with a straw, allowing Mario and Mr. Can to escape.
After they escape the area, the mystery savior formally introduces himself as Defy Guy, an incredibly stubborn Slurp Guy that defied Black Bowser's commands back in the first game and escaped to the Spectrum Isles. He tried to fight off the black paint once the Black Big Paint Star came back, but generally failed, hiding in the Vermillion Plateau. There, he discovered that by sticking his straw into the ground, he could block off the streams of black paint.
Mr. Can realizes that he could be incredibly helpful in fighting the Black Big Paint Star, and remembers something he read before this all happened. "When the long-fallen darkness arises once again, 10 heroes will fight together to combat the darkness and those that it corrupts." He then realizes that the passage may have been hinting at the revival of the Black Big Paint Star, and he, Mario, and Defy Guy are three of those 10 heroes. Unfortunately, they are yet to find the other 7, so they ask Defy Guy to join them, and he reluctantly agrees.
From there, they use Defy Guy's straw and Mario's Clear Paint Hammer to fend off the streams of black paint in the next area for long enough to make it to the Vermillion Mini Paint Star.
==== Carmine Crest ====
In the Carmine Crest, Mario finds an unusually low amount of black paint, perhaps suggesting that something in the Carmine Crest is fending off the black paint. He climbs the mountain for a bit, before reaching the top, having found no Mini Paint Star. It is then that he realizes something is wrong.
When he looks down off the Crest, he realizes that there are tons of streams of black paint at the base of the mountain, but they all stop once the snow comes in. After some thought between the three of them, Mr. Can realizes that the snow is a combination of the Blue, Purple, and White Big Paint Star's powers. The water that the snow started as comes from the Blue one, the storm that made the snow fall came from the Purple one, and the purity of crest-fallen snow comes from the White one.
From here, Mr. Can gets the bright idea of collecting some of this snow inside of him, as it is clearly going to be helpful to ward off the black paint streams. From here, he explains the Collection mechanic, which I will go over in the Gameplay section. But, to keep it brief, he grabs some snow, and by collecting snow in the right spots, a hole in the ground is revealed that holds the Carmine Mini Paint Star.
==== Berry Haven ====
In the Berry Haven, Mario and his party find themselves in front of a large, winding, and seemingly infinite maze of hedges. But the Berry Mini Paint Star is somewhere in the labyrinth, so they reluctantly go in.
After a bit of getting hopelessly lost, they realize they'll have to find a new strategy. That's when they figure out that with a combination of Defy Guy's straw platform and Mr. Can's snow, they can climb their way to the top. But this is only the beginning, as they still have to find the Berry Mini Paint Star.
After some climbing across the maze, they realize that none of the black paint streams are heading towards them, but towards the center of the maze. Realizing that this must mean something, the trio go to the center of the labyrinth to see the streams all merging together in the center, into what is evidently a monstrous blob of black paint. After it finished fully forming, it notices the trio, and attacks them. And thus begins the first mini boss.
After defeating the blob monster with clear paint, snow, and Defy Guy's straw, it bursts into tons of streams of black paint that all scurry off in multiple directions, as well as the Berry Mini Paint Star. Mario grabs the Mini Paint Star, and they can leave the maze.
==== Burgundy Sierra ====
In the Burgundy Sierra, Mario and his party find themselves inside a volcano that is close to erupting that blocks the path to the Ruby Pillar. In order to reach the Ruby Pillar, they must stop the Burgundy Sierra from erupting and collect the Burgundy Mini Paint Star to open the path.
In order to stop the volcano, you must use snow to cool the lava in order to open up paths and reach the core of the volcano. That's where Mario finds a gigantic blob of black paint covering the fissure that the magma would erupt from. By defeating the blob with clear paint and snow, the volcano starts to rumble, and you have to hurry to block up the fissure.
Eventually, by climbing up a bit, you find a large rock that's super close to falling onto the fissure. By using the full strength of all three of you, you can push the rock onto the fissure and stop the volcano from erupting. From there, you can continue with the level with the lava at a lower level now, and collect the Burgundy Mini Paint Star to complete the level and open the path.
==== Ruby Pillar ====
The Ruby Pillar is the final level in the first chapter. It is where all the red Mini Paint Stars that have been taken by the blobs of black paint are, and where a red paint-infected Morton guards the Red Big Paint Star.
Throughout the level, you must fight more blobs to access rooms throughout the Ruby Pillar, grab as many Mini Paint stars as possible, and defeat Morton at the top. On every floor, there is a new Mini Paint Star, and every time you collect a new one, the Red Big Paint Star grows stronger, allowing you to continue upward through the tower.
Once you make it to the top, the first boss fight begins with the red paint-infected Morton. Basically, after Bowser and the Koopalings crashed their ship, they landed in the Spectrum Isles. And after the Black Big Paint Star arrived, it used paint directly from each Big Paint Star to infect each Koopaling, giving them the same powers as the Big Paint Star, but also forcing them to follow its orders. For Bowser, it infected Bowser itself.
Throughout the Morton fight, he uses his warmth powers stolen from the Red Big Paint Star to fight you, along with his big hammer and the help of the Blackened Souls. But overall, it is pretty easy to defeat him if you prepare plenty beforehand. After beating him, he runs off, and the red paint on him gets reabsorbed by the Red Big Paint Star. There, you can give the Red Big Paint Star the Mini Paint Stars you've collected, fulling restoring its warmth powers, allowing it to bring warmth back to the entirety of the levels you have accessed.
Thanks to the warmth provided from the Red Big Paint Star, a path opens up from the Ruby Pillar, leading to the Pineapple Prairie.
=== Chapter 2: The Unseen Barrier ===
Chapter 2 is a lot like the first chapter, but since you're working to save a different Big Paint Star with different powers, the overall concept of the chapter is different.
This chapter is about saving the Yellow Big Paint Star, which has control over light. That includes sunlight, moonlight, starlight, firelight, and the light within all people. It also includes the light that shines over everything constantly, keeping it visible. But, since the Yellow Big Paint Star's powers are dimmed without its shades, all that light is gone throughout Chapter 2, including that which keeps things visible, forcing Mario to deal with a lot of... unseen barriers.
Now to the areas.
==== Pineapple Prairie ====
In Pineapple Prairie, Mario and his party find themselves in a land of large rolling hills that expand for miles, with nothing but grass and some black paint streams and Blackened Souls in sight.
Eventually, they do find the Pineapple Mini Paint Star, but it is surrounded by three black paint streams that split it into three pieces (kind of like the blue Mini Paint Star in the Sacred Forest in the original), forcing Mario to chase after them and recover the three pieces.
For the first piece, Mario finds the stream at the top of the highest hill, and must surround it with clear paint to take its piece, as this is the fastest of the three streams. For the second, Mario finds the stream at the bottom of the lowest valley, and must use snow or other things Mr. Can has collected to stop it, as it has the widest path. And for the third, Mario finds the stream atop the apex of a particularly steep part of the hill, and must use Defy Guy's straw to reach it, and then the straw again to stop it, as it has the smallest path. After collecting the three pieces, Mario can collect the Pineapple Mini Paint Star.
==== Honey Lane ====
In Honey Lane, Mario and his party find themselves in a small town northwest of Pineapple Prairie. It is very peaceful, but also almost every inhabitant is now a Blackened Soul.
Mario searches through the near-abandoned town, battling the Blackened Souls on the way. Eventually, a strange figure appears from behind a house, and begins interrogating him.
After confirming that Mario is not working for the Black Big Paint Star, it introduces itself as Pokai, the only resident of Honey Lane that was able to evade the streams of black paint. She is a Pokey that has perfected the Pokey art of Separation, an art used only by Pokey's that involves them separating the different portions of their body and using the dominant portions to move around the non-dominant ones. Used correctly, this can greatly increase a Pokey's aerodynamics, speed, and evasiveness, and can be very beneficial when trying to escape something.
When the black paint streams invaded her town, she was the only one left, having to leave her family behind to escape. She joins Mario in order to avenge her town and stop the horrible things that the Black Big Paint Star has been causing all throughout the Spectrum Isles. Mr. Can notes that her Separation ability would be very helpful in escaping the black paint streams, and notes that she very well might be the fourth hero.
The rest of the level is pretty simple, just some battling, hammering black paint, planting straws in the ground, and launching yourself forward with Pokai. Afterwards, you gain the Honey Mini Paint Star.
==== Canary Canyon ====
In Canary Canyon, Mario must truly put his skills to the test. The canyon is swarming with black paint streams, all of them frantically trying to get the Canary Mini Paint Star before Mario can. This level truly requires skill, speed, strategy, and quick thinking.
All throughout the level, Mario must progress through the rooms through straws, launches, and hammers. There are many buttons to stand on, blocks to hit, and spiky gorges to launch over. But, eventually, you find yourself in the last room.
The last room is the home of the Canary Mini Paint Star, but also the home of thousands of black paint streams, way too many for Mario to handle with the abilities he has now. At the center of the room, there are multiple black paint streams covering the Canary Mini Paint Star, and when they retreat, Mario sees that the Canary Mini Paint Star has been infected by the streams, and turned into a black Mini Paint Star.
Here, Mario must battle the mini paint star to knock the black paint off, an eventually enough black paint is removed for the Canary Mini Paint Star to regain consciousness and shine off the rest of the black paint. From there, Mario can collect the Mini Paint Star.
==== Bumblebee Barricade ====
In the Bumblebee Barricade, Mario and his party find themselves in front of a large wall that surrounds the Goldenrod Citadel. There are a few black paint streams trying to climb their way up the wall, but the heavy defenses of the wall knock the majority down.
Throughout the level, Mario must climb his way up the wall, evading the traps set by the Golden King to knock down intruders. By being careful, you should be able to make your way to the top, but the level doesn't end there.
After making your way up the wall, the sensors in the castle get set off, which makes every single archer set up atop the castle start shooting at you. From here, you must evade their arrows and find a hiding spot before their big weapon goes off. If you find it in time, the wave of fire from the weapon doesn't hit you, but it does hit the archers, and you can safely climb down the wall to collect the Mini Paint Star and enter the castle.
==== Lemon Lockup ====
In the Lemon Lockup, Mario starts in the entrance to the Goldenrod Citadel, but someone pulls some lever that makes Mario fall into the prisons deep beneath the castle. From there, you must find a way to escape the prisons and finally reach the castle.
Throughout the level, Mario must be extremely sneaky and extremely quick in order to sneak past and escape the guards without getting caught, because getting caught means you automatically get caught by the Wiggler guards and being taken back to your cell.
By sneaking past or running away from all the guards, you'll find yourself in a large row of cells with various enemies inside. You can talk to each one, but for the most part, you can skip them, until the last one.
When you try to leave the row of cells, a prisoner at the end of the row stops you. Mario goes back to see who said it, and finds that it was said by a Spiny. The Spiny introduces itself as Spineir, a Spiny that was locked up in the Lemon Lockup by the Golden King for almost no reason.
He says that the Golden King was once a fair and righteous ruler who's kingdom was in harmony with all the others. But, after the Black Big Paint Star arrived, he became cold and distant to both his people and the other kingdoms. He built a huge wall around the castle, and ordered all his guards and archers to lock up anyone that tried to reach him. The few people that did manage to get to him were never seen again.
He finishes off by saying that something is wrong with the King, and if Mario is crazy enough to try and stop him, he would almost certainly never come back. Spineir warns Mario to escape the prison, and run as far away as possible from the kingdom. Otherwise, he might either be stuck here forever, or he'd never be seen again.
After this, Mario can exit the prison and collect the Lemon Mini Paint Star to continue.
==== Goldenrod Citadel ====
The Goldenrod Citadel is the final level in the second chapter. It is where all the yellow Mini Paint Stars that have been taken by the blobs of black paint are, and where a yellow paint-infected Iggy disguised as the Golden King guards the Yellow Big Paint Star.
Throughout this level, you must find your way through the strangeness of the castle, evading the traps and finding the remaining Mini Paint Stars on the way. The castle is full of traps set by the Golden King, along with several blobs and streams of black paint and Blackened Souls to battle. In every room, there are at least two puzzles to solve, the majority having multiple parts, and one of these puzzles leads to a Mini Paint Star, and the other to a key. By finding all of the keys, you can unlock the door to the throne room.
In the throne room, you find the Golden King sitting on the throne, who acts incredibly surprised that you managed to find him. After some thought, though, he calms down, and reveals that he was secretly a yellow paint-infected Iggy in disguise. Iggy says that he loves his new powers, saying that he can bend light in any way to become anyone or anything. He apparently ambushed the Golden King and used his stolen light powers to essentially swap places with the Golden King, making everyone think he was the Golden King and put the actual Golden King in jail by bending the light around him to make him look like Iggy. After Iggy finished talking, the boss battle begins.
Throughout the Iggy fight, he uses his light powers stolen from the Yellow Big Paint Star to fight you and basically transform into various characters, along with his chariots and the help of the Blackened Souls. It is substantially more difficult than the Morton fight, especially since if you use really good cards and he uses his powers to portray you, he can also use those really good cards, but isn't too difficult if you know what to do. After beating him, he runs off, and the yellow paint on him gets reabsorbed by the Yellow Big Paint Star. There, you can give the Yellow Big Paint Star the Mini Paint Stars you've collected, fulling restoring its light powers, allowing it to bring light back to the entirety of the levels you have accessed.
Thanks to the light provided from the Yellow Big Paint Star, a path opens up from the Goldenrod Citadel, leading to the Azure Bay.
=== Chapter 3: An Abandoned Empire ===
Chapter 3 is quite different than the first two chapters, since this one is much more based off solving puzzles and mysteries. There are a few similarities, but the overall concept is very different.
This chapter is about saving the Blue Big Paint Star, which has control over all fluids. That includes water, blood, ice and frost, clouds, and even paint. But, since the Blue Big Paint Star's powers are growing shallow without its shades, all those fluids have been dried up throughout Chapter 3, including the large amounts of water in the oceans, revealing... an abandoned empire.
Now to the areas.
==== Azure Bay ====
In Azure Bay, Mario and his party find themselves in a dried-up abandoned bay from a long-abandoned empire. In it, you must find a hidden switch to rise up the rest of the empire out of the sand that was once below the water. Once you do, you can collect the Azure Mini Paint Star.
Throughout the level, Mario must search through the bay to find clues as the what happened to the rest of the empire. He must collect a few key items and keys to unlock rooms, eventually finding a large switch. By hitting the switch, the rest of the empire will rise up out of the sand underneath the now dried-up water, but the level doesn't end there.
==== Cerulean Corridor ====
In the Cerulean Corridor, Mario and his party find themselves in the abandoned first few rooms and hallways in the Sapphire Stronghold. In it, you must search through the corridors to find the few remaining remnants of the empire. Eventually, you'll find the true reason as to why it was abandoned.
Throughout the level, Mario must look through each room and hallway to find secrets and clues as to why the empire was abandoned. He must make his way into a secret room found in the gigantic library, which holds a glowing orb. If you closely examine the orb, you can see that the orb holds a large mass of black paint that has been compressed into the tiny orb, which is close to bursting. If the orb bursts, the entire empire would get covered in black paint.
In the same room as the orb there is the Cerulean Mini Paint Star, which you can collect to progress to the next level.
==== Aegean Asylum ====
In the Aegean Asylum, Mario and his party find themselves in what looks to be what was once a place of refuge for those that needed it that was provided by the empire. Now, it is empty, besides a strange voice echoing through the shelter.
Throughout the level, Mario must seek out the source of the voice, eventually finding a small Bully crying in the corner of a very secluded room. When they see you, they freak out, and ask who you are, why you're here, and why everyone is gone.
Mr. Can introduces you and the rest of your party, and explains that you're here to find the Blue Big Paint Star. He then says that he doesn't know why everyone is gone, and asks who the small Bully is.
The Bully says that their name is Bullanya, and when the rest of the empire and refugees ran away, they couldn't find her. She has been looking for where everyone went for almost a year, but to no avail, and hadn't even seen anyone at all since the day everyone left. Apparently, she heard something about a monster of darkness lurking through the halls of the empire, which they were able to trap, but the things they trapped it in apparently wouldn't last long.
Hearing this, Mario thinks back to the orb of black paint from the Cerulean Corridor, and suggests to Mr. Can that the black paint in the orb could have been the monster that Bullanya mentioned. Mr. Can agrees, and explains to Bullanya that the rest of the empire probably fled because they knew that the monster would eventually escape from the orb and attack everyone. He also explains the whole Black Big Paint Star situation, and says that the Black Big Paint Star probably created that black paint monster. He explains that if she wants to save her home and bring back her family, then she should join them.
Hearing this, Bullanya says that she'll do anything to bring back her family, and says that she has apparently built up strategies to fend off the streams of black paint that have been invading the empire since it was evacuated, namely the Bully art of Repulsion.
The art of Repulsion involves combining the other Bully art of Charging, or quickly charging directly forward to knock things back, with force direction. By charging forwards and directing that force in another direction, a Bully can spread the force past any physical barrier. By using this art, one would be able to direct the force into the ground where a stream of black paint is to knock back or even split the stream. This can also be used to break unstable ground and walls.
From there, you can use Bullanya to continue through the Aegean Asylum and collect the Aegean Mini Paint Star.
==== Peacock Porch ====
In the Peacock Porch, Mario and his party find themselves in the upper part of the west wing of the empire, searching for a way to get out. You must use Bullanya to breaks unstable ground and walls, use Pokai to traverse the outer parts of the empire, and use Defy Guy to reach higher-up spots.
Throughout the level, Mario must traverse through the area in order to find a safe place to escape the empire before the black paint monster escapes. He must traverse upwards into the higher-up parts of the empire, looking for either an escape route or the Blue Big Paint Star. After a bit of searching, the place will rumble, but instead of a flood of black paint bursting through the walls, a flood of regular water does, and Mario must run from the flood and into a small room that the flood can't reach.
Once the flood ends, Mario will be able to freely exit the room to find that the strange flood brought the Peacock Mini Paint Star with it. From there, you can progress to the next level.
==== Viridian Vents ====
In the Viridian Vents, Mario and his party find themselves crawling through the ventilation of the empire to figure out what caused the flood, find the Blue Big Paint Star, and escape the empire before it gets flooded with black paint.
Throughout the level, Mario must crawl through the vents as quickly as possible, with the occasional flow of water flooding the vents, forcing Mario to find a small corner to hide in until it passes. Also occasionally, he'll hear snippets of a conversation through the walls, but the walls surrounding him are normally to thick to catch more than a few words.
Eventually, Mario will find an exit to the vents that leads him to a hallway near the center of the empire, which holds the Viridian Mini Paint Star.
==== Sapphire Safehold ====
The Sapphire Safehold is the final level of the third chapter. It is where all the blue Mini Paints Stars that have been taken by the blobs of black paint are, and where a blue paint-infected Ludwig guards the Blue Big Paint Star.
Throughout this level, you must find your way through the many rooms of the level, solving the many puzzles all throughout the room. The place is chock-full of black paint, more than the amount of black paint throughout the rest of the third chapter combined. In every room, you must solve the many puzzles to collect the Mini Paint Stars and keys in order to eventually unlock the door to the center of the empire.
In the center of the empire, you'll find a blue paint-infected Ludwig surrounded by a bunch of waterfalls that seemingly come from the ceiling. The moment he sees you, he remarks that you're finally here, and he expected you to have crumbled to shreds in the flood that he created with his new water powers. He says that he's actually quite disappointed, as he already told the Black Big Paint Star that Mario died in the flood through the reflections on the water, because that's apparently a thing he can do with his new powers. And now, he says, he'll have to dispose of you himself.
Throughout the Ludwig fight, he uses his fluid powers stolen from the Blue Big Paint Star to fight you and use the various colors of paint against you, along with the occasional water and the help of the Blackened Souls. It is actually quite difficult if you don't know what you're doing, as he'll often surround himself in a shield of water that makes you take damage if you try to attack him. But, with some planning, you can beat him, and he will run off, allowing you to give the Blue Big Paint Star all the blue Mini Paint Stars you've collected, fully restoring its fluid powers, allowing it to restore the fluids all throughout the levels you have accessed.
Thanks to the water provided from the Blue Big Paint Star, a path opens up from the Sapphire Safehold, leading to the Grape Grotto.
=== Chapter 4: A Dreaded Darkness ===
Chapter 4 is sort of a combination of chapter 2 and 3, in that it involves heavy exploration, battling, and puzzle-solving, much more so than any other chapter so far.
This chapter is about saving the Purple Big Paint Star, which has control over storms and weather. That includes sunshine, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, snow, and the individual storms within all people. But, since the Purple Big Paint Star's powers are growing clouded up without its shades, all the weather has been lost from the world, including sunshine, leaving only... a dreaded darkness.
Now to the areas.
==== Grape Grotto ====
In the Grape Grotto, Mario and his party find themselves at the entrance of a large cave system, the Purple Big Paint Star residing somewhere within the system. They must find a way to enter the blocked-off cave system.
Throughout the level, Mario must look around the Grape Grotto, looking for a way to move or destroy the boulders blocking the entrance to the larger cave system. There are a few Things he can try, but none of them will move or destroy the boulders enough to allow passage. Eventually, Mario will find a way to destroy the boulders and collect the Grape Mini Paint Star to progress to the next level.
==== Orchid Underpass ====
In the Orchid Underpass, Mario and his party find themselves lost in the depths of the cave system that holds the Purple Big Paint Star. They eventually get so deep into the caves that there isn't even a hint of life, and they have no idea how to progress.
Throughout the level, Mario must find the right paths that don't lead in a loop back to the start. The tunnels start to branch more and more, making it nearly impossible to correctly guess which way is correct. In the last room, none of the tunnels actually lead to the Orchid Mini Paint Star, and Mario must use Defy Guy and Bullanya to break open a passageway to the room that holds the star.
==== Lilac Chamber ====
In the Lilac Chamber, Mario and his party find themselves in a trio of large caves with seemingly no exit besides going back to the Orchid Underpass. No amount of Repulsion, Separation, straws, snow, hammers, or jumps will lead Mario to finding an exit. However, there is a nearby sound of crackling, almost like lightning.
Throughout the level, Mario must try and fail to find a new path, and seek out the source of the crackling. Since the weather has, well, stopped, since the Purple Big Paint Star lost its shades, the lightning-like crackling could only be coming from a source outside the weather.
In the third, northernmost room, the sound of the crackling is by far the loudest, and by hammering a wall, a small Paraspike Top (a winged Spike Top) will fall to the floor. By approaching the Paraspike Top, it will jump up, scared. Mr. Can will introduce him, Mario, and the rest of their party, and ask what the Paraspike Top's name is. It will frightenedly respond that its name is Paraspark, a Paraspike Top that got lost in the caves and has been searching for a way to escape ever since the Black Big Paint Star arose.
Apparently, when the Black Big Paint Star was recreated, it sent its black paint blobs and streams into the cave, making the black paint they left behind soak into the cave's center, making it near-impossible to escape. Paraspark entered the cave in order to explore it, and was never able to escape. He's tried to zip as quickly as possible southward, but never managed to get past these three rooms.
Mr. Can suggests that he come with them to help stop the Black Big Paint Star, because if he does, they'll help him escape. Hearing this, Paraspark desperately agrees, explaining that with his abilities, he's been barely able to fend off the black paint streams. His ability is something he's dubbed the Static Stab.
According to him, Paraspike Tops like him and their closest family (Spike Tops, Buzzy Beetles, and Parabuzzy Beetles) can connect to one of three elements: fire, ice, or electricity. Most Spike Tops and Paraspike Tops connect to fire, most Buzzy Beetles and Parabuzzy Beetles connect to ice, but the majority don't connect to electricity. Paraspark did.
He has shown to use this ability in a multitude of ways, but the main two abilities he uses are his Voltaic Blitz ability, which allows him to quickly dash forward in the air, which was his main hope as for how to escape the caves, and his Static Stab ability, which has him charging himself with electricity, flipping so that his spike faces something nearby, and dashing forward in the air. With this ability, he can send courses of electricity through the walls, floor and ceiling, as well as fend off the black paint streams and other enemies with said courses of electricity.
With Paraspark's ability, you can have his Static Stab into the correct wall in the second room, which will open up a hole high up in said wall that Mario wouldn't have been able to reach, even with Defy Guy's straw and some snow or whatever else Mr. Can has collected. Opening up the hole will, in turn, make the entire wall collapse, and allow Mario to walk past it and collect the Lilac Mini Paint Star.
==== Mauve Mine ====
In the Mauve Mine, Mario and his party find themselves at the entrance of an abandoned mine deep in the cave. The remnants of the miners that once were here can be found through pickaxes and wheelbarrows from when they likely were mining the crystals that line the walls of the cave.
Throughout the level, Mario must search through the mine for a key that will allow him to continue deeper into the caves. He must use all his partner's and Mr. Can's abilities, along with the few things remaining of the miners that fled the mine mysteriously quickly, without even bringing their crystals with them. Eventually, however, he'll find the key, and be able to collect the Mauve Mini Paint Star.
==== Lavender Lode ====
In the Lavender Lode, Mario and his party find themselves in a large room with crystals coating every inch of the walls and ceiling. For some reason, the miners never went in here, or they did go into the room but didn't gather any crystals for some reason.
Throughout the level, Mario must use a variety of Static Stabs and straws primarily, eventually coming across a smaller room completely covered in crystals, with a small purplish orb floating in the center. If Mario walks up to the orb and hammers it, it will begin pulsing in a lavender light, making the crystals all throughout the level start growing. Mario must then rush back to the starting room of the level, probably making it around when there's barely any room left. Once he does, the crystals will shrink back to their normal size, and a bunch of streams of black paint will come into the room and form into one of the big black paint monsters. However, this time, the monster will gather a bunch of crystals from the walls and coat itself in it.
After defeating the black paint monster, you can travel back to the room with the orb where the lavender glow will have lessened, revealing that the orb was secretly the Lavender Mini Paint Star with a stream of black paint inside of it that caused it to make the crystals in the room go crazy. You can then collect the mini paint star and continue to the next level.
==== Amethyst Vein ====
The Amethyst Vein is the final level of the fourth chapter. It is where all the purple Mini Paints Stars that have been taken by the blobs of black paint are, and where a purple paint-infected Wendy guards the Purple Big Paint Star.
Throughout this level, you must navigate the many tunnels at the very center of the cave, while avoiding a bunch of traps that are scattered throughout the level Each tunnel holds a different purple mini paint star, and often each one you collect will open paths to more of the cave. There are also a lot of the crystallized black paint monsters from Lavender Lode across the level to defeat.
In the very center room of the cave after fully opening up the cave, you'll find a purple paint-infected Wendy sitting luxuriously on a throne made entirely of crystals. When she sees you, she laughs, saying that she's glad he finally found her, and that hopefully he can share in the abundance of crystals she's created with her new weather powers. Paraspark realizes that she's the one that got him lost in the caves, and immediately flares up with anger, to which she tells him to calm down, and that if it was really up to her, she would have just killed him. She then says that if Mario won't appreciate the luxury, she'll have to give it to him herself.
Throughout the Wendy fight, she uses her weather powers stolen from the Purple Big Paint Star to fight you and charge up her crystals and gold with electricity. She can dish out a lot of damage really, really quickly, so its important to be good at blocking and dodging in the fight. If you are skilled enough in those, you should be able to beat her, making her run off and allowing you to give the Purple Big Paint Star all the purple Mini Paint Stars you've collected, fully restoring its weather powers, allowing it to restore the weather all throughout the levels you have accessed.
Thanks to the lightning provided by the Purple Big Paint Star, a boulder in Grape Grotto gets destroyed and you can continue to Monarch Hall.
=== Chapter 5: A Negative Rhythm ===
Chapter 5 is a lot like chapter 3 in that it relies less on battling and exploration and all the like, but more on puzzle- and mystery-solving. It obviously still has battles and exploration, but a lot less than chapters 1, 2 and 4.
This chapter is about saving the Orange Big Paint Star, which has control over all elements of the earth. That includes soil, rocks, sand, glass, dust, etc. But, since the Orange Big Paint Star's powers are trembling without its shades, the areas across Chapter 5 are suffering from a large amount of erratic earthquakes and other elements of the earth going crazy like quicksand, rockslides, dust devils, and more. And since the areas are centered around music and acting and such, these leave a certain... negative rhythm.
==== Monarch Hall ====
In Monarch Hall, Mario and his party find themselves at the entrance hall to a large theater with multiple rooms for concerts, plays, musical theater, etc., with the Orange Big Paint Star somewhere within the theater. They must then search the many halls to find clues as to where the Big Paint Star is.
Throughout the level, Mario must look around the various rooms to try and find where the Monarch Mini Paint Star might be, or just a path to the Orange Big Paint Star. In one of the rooms, the character Piano Bro is playing a piano solo at a concert, in another there's a play going on titled "The Fabric's Decay," and in a third there's a musical titled "Second Door to the Right."
To progress in the level, you must use "The Fabric's Decay" and the title of "Second Door to the Right" to find out where to go next, as the musical's doors are closed in order to avoid interruptions and distracting the actors during musical numbers. "The Fabric's Decay" hints that you have to hit something with a hammer four times in succession to make a wall collapse, and the title of the musical tells you where to hammer.
The second door to the right is locked off, and the sign next to it reads "Bac-CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE-age," and by hammering it four times in succession, the door and the wall surrounding it will collapse, allowing you to head to the backstage and find and collect the Monarch Mini Paint Star.
==== Carrot Corner ====
To be continued
== Gameplay ==
The gameplay in this game is very different to that of the original game, and I'd like to think at least the majority of the changes are for the better. Now there are thing like partners, extra abilities, dashing, and even A GOOD BATTLE SYSTEM. I will now go over each facet of the gameplay.
=== Battle ===
The battle system was probably the most complained-about facet of the first game, and was pretty much unfixable, so what do you do when something is completely unfixable? YOU MAKE A NEW ONE.
Since this new game is centered largely on platforming and puzzle-solving, the new battle system also largely centers on that. For starters, before each battle, Mario must equip from 3-7 Battle Cards, which determine what abilities he can use in battle. Throughout the game, you can collect more Card Slots, which allow you to use more abilities. You can equip at most 2 Jump Cards, 2 Hammer Cards, 1 Thing Card, 1 Item Card, and 1 Special Card. Jump Cards allow you to attack flying and shielding enemies, but for the most part not spiked, electric, or fiery enemies. Hammer Cards allow you to attack spiked, fiery, and electric enemies, but for the most part not flying or shielding enemies. Thing Cards allow you to hit all enemies for a large amount of damage, but can only be used once per battle. Item Cards allow you to trigger a special effect, like a heal, a status heal, a paint restore, a status inflict, or even a stat boost. Finally Special Cards allow you to use a special attack for either Mario or one of his partners.
Once you interact with an enemy, a battle will begin, which has Mario and the enemy starting at the center or an arena with multiple enemies and allies surrounding the arena. From here, Mario and the enemy are free to move around the ring, but cannot exit until either Mario or the main enemy is defeated. Throughout the battle, more enemies may come in to help the main enemy, but only the main enemy must be defeated to win the battle. It's the same with allies joining Mario; They can come to help, but if Mario is defeated, the battle is over, regardless of how many allies there are in the arena.
In the battle, Mario can use any of the abilities he has equipped to attack, along with his partners to also attack (Defy Guy's straw can deal damage to non-flying enemies, Pokai's Separation can deal damage to any enemy the separated parts hit before the attack ends, Bullanya's Repulsion can deal damage to any non-flying enemy with knockback, Paraspark's Static Stab can deal damage to any non-electric enemy with a chance of paralyzing, Piano Bro's Signature Sharp can deal damage to any area from any part of the arena, and Spikye's Spiky Spin can deal damage to any enemy with a chance of bleeding, Chomperet's Chomping Fury can deal damage to multiple non-flying enemies in a row, and Laveir's Magmatic Globe can deal damage to any enemy with a chance of burning).
When Mario defeats an enemy, it drops white paint, which Mr. Can collects after a battle ends. Once Mario collects 100 white paint, he levels up. When he levels up, he can increase his HP (Health Points), PS (Paint Storage), or PH (Partner Health). When he increases HP, his health increases by 5. When he increases PS, the amount of clear paint he can store in his hammer at a time increases by 20%. And when he increases PH, the health of any one of his partners increases by 5.
The health of enemies is displayed in a red bar at the top of the screen. Whenever a new enemy enters the battle, they are added to the bar, and by dealing damage to said enemy, their portion of the red bar will partially turn from red to white. It's a similar case with Mario and his partner's health, which is displayed by a red bar at the bottom of the screen. Every time an ally enters the battle, they are added to the bar, and part of their part of the bar will turn from red to white.
To be continued
== Trivia ==
* The dominant emotions of the partners represents the Big Paint Star area they are found in. Defy Guy is angered easily, Pokai is often very joyful and optimistic, Bullanya is often very sad and somber, Paraspark is often fearful and anxious, Piano Bro is very energetic and excitable, Spikye is very apologetic and feels guilty for most things, even if she didn't do anything, Chomperet is rarely negative and enforces positivity, and Laveir is basically the opposite of Chomperet.
* The battle system of this game is quite similar to that of Super Paper Mario, as it revolves less on turn-based combat and more on platforming to attack the enemy.
== Note ==
The reason that a lot of these levels aren't very detailed (especially in chapter 4) is because a lot of the details are hard to put into writing, and are done easier when actually creating the game. If someone has an idea as for how to add more detail, let me know.
Category:Mario Games
Category:Mario (series)
Category:Paper Mario Games
Category:Paper Mario (series)
Category:Role-Playing Games