1 Final Fantasy Explorers - Using Circle Pad Pro, Reversing Camera Axes, Speeding Up Text, Loading Times, First Job

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about my start with this new game, focusing on introductions and personalising settings. I'm going to be using the Circle Pad Pro XL, inverting the camera axes, speeding up the text, seeing what the loading times are like, sit through tutorials and apply them to gameplay.

It's been a long time since I used my Circle Pad Pro XL. I'm using headphones and the charger at the moment and I'm glad it makes room for both of these!

Anyway, it's compatible with this new game. I didn't get the collector's edition, but in this box there's a registration card, kind of like the Club Nintendo ones when it was still around. There's also an English Quick Guide, which is quite nice.

After choosing what my character looks like, I watch a cutscene with plot exposition that lasts about a minute or so and get into a tutorial battle where I have to deal with Bahamut. Various onscreen tutorials say what to do. I flee the area and meet a woman outside named Surama. She helped me out.

There's a loading screen here. It's black and it says "Loading..." in the bottom right corner, accompanied by a little blue glow effect. It lasts for approximately 5 seconds. This is a thing I expect to see a lot.

Next, I find myself in a town called Libertas. There's a garishly dressed man here named Ludio talking to me. He says I have to register with the Union if I want to work. After I'm done talking to him, I take a look at the menus. I'm looking for the options menu, so I can turn on the Circle Pad Pro, but I can't find it yet.

I talk to a guy in front of the crystal named Shion. He's a beginner as well and hopes we'll stick together.

The dialogue is mostly voiceless except for "Hello" and that kind of thing. The text scrolls kind of slowly but you can fill the box by pressing A. This makes a sound and another sound when you press A again to get rid of the text box. I love this sound! It's the iconic Final Fantasy menu cursor bipping. I wonder if I can at least make the text scroll faster. I must find that options menu.

I see a big exclamation point over some guy's head, so I run up and talk to him. It's this game's incarnation of Cid! He's in charge of the Union branch office in this town. He says he used to be an explorer himself and assumes that's why his name rings a bell with me. He gives me a little tutorial quest before I can start working.

I talk to Marie at the Quest Desk. She dresses all dapper and wears a flower in her red hair. Her voice says "Welcome back!", even though it's our first meeting. She's to give me the Basic Certification Exam. I have to beat 10 monsters for this first tutorial quest.

The exclamation mark appears over Ludio's head now. He has various basic instructions on offer.

I finally find the options menu! Just had to press RIGHT on the D-Pad twice on the start menu to find it. I turn on the Circle Pad Pro from here. The town here has a fixed camera, so I head outside on the quest, so I can test it out. I press A to Embark when I have a quest going on.

A little tutorial appears and says I can spend time to revive myself from being KO'd. Since I have limited time I have to use it wisely. Sounds nice.

I find the camera control is the opposite of what I'm used to from the N64 era, so I head into the options and set the X and Y axes to "Inverted". While I'm doing this, another little tutorial appears about using abilities and cooldown periods. I'm not usually a fan of this — I like the quick and constant Zelda style of action usually!

After this, another tutorial appears about Resonance. I better find a way of applying some of this stuff before I forget it all...

Another tutorial appears about combat items i.e. potions, etc. very important stuff.

Looks like I can indeed change text speed and volume of music and SFX. Must check those out thoroughly.

Now to take on some enemies! I start with Leech Bats and Goblins, making quick work of them. That "Follow Small" icon on the touch screen is handy for targeting them.

One sound I must say I absolutely love is the pickup of spoils! It makes this powerful purring noise that's so moreish and pleasant to hear. "BVVVVVV" it goes.

I beat up the 10 monsters and complete the quest. When I do this, the Final Fantasy victory theme starts playing and I get a message that tells me I'll be transported back promptly, just like in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.

There's a nice results screen with my totals and it's back to Cid after a loading screen. He tells me about the next tutorial, which is about Crystal Surge.

First, I play around with the text message speed in the dialogue boxes with people. Oh my goodness! It is so much better when it's set to Very Fast. I recommend everyone do this!

Second, I play around with audio settings. I can adjust music and SFX separately in the options and turn one of them off completely if I want to. This'll be nice in case things get repetitive. SFX only can be a nice ambient experience, listening to rivers flowing nearby etc.

I head back to Marie at the counter and take on the Crystal Surge Exam. Getting this to trigger is a little strange. I have to keep hitting baddies by holding L and pressing a corresponding face button until the Resonance builds up to at least 100 and to keep it up there by continually hitting baddies until the Crystal Surge can be triggered with L and R. A lot of shoulder button usage there and cooldown periods after each attack.

The ZL and ZR buttons are extra dash buttons. Wish I could use that L button for attacking instead of the first one.

Next is the Ability Mutation Exam. This has even more shoulder button usage. After doing the above, you can use the L + Attack again to mutate that ability with that Crystal Surge's element. At least I'm applying that stuff I learned in the pop up tutorials earlier.

Now I can take on more quests and change my job to either: Knight, Monk, Ranger, White Mage or Black Mage. At last!

I think I'll start with Monk since I do martial arts in real life. I equip the Novice Tunic and Boots and take on another quest, "Defeat the Goblin Gang!"

This quest took ages. L & X does a boost move that makes attacks stronger among other things temporarily. Resonance builds really slowly as well. I did manage to beat it alright, but next time I should probably equip some kind of weapon!

27 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Fly Guy Patrol in Twinsy Tropics

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about doing this second mission in the Twinsy Tropics Lakitu Info Centre.

This second one is Fly Guy Patrol. It takes place on the archipelago we found ourselves on when we escaped the dungeon and it's a stealth mission! We can't even engage the enemy in battle! There are 15 Paper Toads to find. No time limit.

There are Fly Guys everywhere with binoculars and we have to sneak past them in order to rescue the Paper Toads. They can only see straight ahead so it's all about sussing their patterns and using it to our advantage. They don't say anything on being rescued. Makes sense, given the situation!

I got three strikes the first time and lost the event, but on the second attempt I was better prepared. I managed to finish with 2 strikes, so it was kinda close!

After this, the Paper Toad we met on the pier earlier comes in and says we've enough Paper Toads to build a boat now and to meet them at the dock. There's a hard mode version of the Fly Guy event available here, so I try that first. This time, it's one strike and you're out! The Fly Guys seem to move faster too. Nonetheless, I manage to beat it in one go! It was a bit close and tense though! It's quite nerve-wracking when you see the ? of suspicion over their heads!

When we leave the Info Centre, we head right first and explore that area. There are a couple of ? blocks, but other than that, the area beyond is impassable at the moment.

I'll meet the Paper Toads at the dock next time.

26 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Tropical Paper Toad Hunt

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about doing this mission in the Twinsy Tropics Lakitu Info Centre.

This first one is Tropical Paper Toad Hunt. It takes place outside the Info Centre and there are 20 Paper Toads to find.

The first is held captive by Koopa Troopas. When we rescue him, he says it's an honour being saved by the famous Mario. The second we pop from a bubble. He says he's glad that nightmare is over. The third is in a bubble and is floating offshore, so we have to do the Trio Grab to catch him. He thanks us and says the air in that bubble was the worst. The fourth is in a bubble and repeats the praise for Mario. No Luigi love? The fifth is in a bubble and also didn't like the air inside. The sixth is in a bubble floating to the east. He's glad to be rescued as he's been floating around for days. The seventh is a blue chasey one, that thanks us for catching him and snapping him out of it. The eighth is hiding under a slab to the south. He was too scared to leave his hiding spot. The ninth is a blue chaser, who says it's a nice surprise when we catch him. The tenth we rescue from a Koopa Troopa and is also glad the nightmare is over. The eleventh to fifteenth ones are all bubbled in a row. They fly high when we try to grab them, so we have to run into the spring pad and bounce to collect them all. They don't say anything. The sixteenth is in a bubble floating to the west and is also relieved to be rescued after floating around for days. The seventeenth is hiding in a little dolmen like structure that Paper Mario can slip into. We spook him out and he's relieved it's us, as he was also too scared to leave his hiding spot by himself. The eighteenth and nineteenth are floating above the bridge in bubbles. Just a jump to catch them. They don't say anything. The twentieth is in another little dolmen like structure and is similarly surprised to the other one.

On beating this challenge, we get a battle card that boosts Star Points by 50% if we avoid the next enemy attack at a cost of 3.

25 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - The Path To Twinsy Tropics Lakitu Info Centre

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about the path between the Twinsy Tropics Toad Village and the Lakitu Information Centre.

When we head to the next screen, a Cheep Cheep appears! He has an Urchin cohort with him as well. It's kind of hard to pass their dodge challenge because they dry out and run away! The Urchin runs away too and doesn't seem to have a dodge challenge. At least we can do zero damage by swinging the hammer at them. After a while, I manage to pass the dodge challenge.

Along this path, I come across the POW Gloves and give them to Luigi.

It's quite a busy time dealing with the baddies here, but we finally make it to the Lakitu Info Centre. The main Lakitu here says it's the newest branch office and doesn't have that many side quests yet but will have more soon. I'll have a look at their Paper Toad rescuing missions next time.

24 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Twinsy Tropics Toad Village

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about exploring the Twinsy Tropics Toad Village.

On the pier, we meet a Paper Toad, talking to himself and having a private soliloquy. He gets startled when he sees us. We both want the same thing: a way to cross the sea and get back to the mainland. He says he can make a boat but he needs more Paper Toads, so we'll have to visit the Lakitu Info Centre here.

The Yellow Toad on the east side of the beach has noticed lots of Bowser's minions appearing in the area lately. The one on the west side says the sea is so beautiful it almost makes him forget about the friends Bowser's minions have captured.

The Blue Toad in front of the western Toad House wonders what Bowser is plotting by kidnapping Toads everywhere. He praises us for releasing all those Toads from prison earlier. The regular Toad here is listening to what the sea is saying. He says it's angry because of Bowser but also says what he hears is his hungry belly growling. Inside the house, the Green Toad tells us about a boat that used to be here but it was washed away in a storm. The Blue Toad here says there are still Toads lost in the Twinsy Tropics dungeon and asks if we would rescue them. On saying yes, a real Toad catching event begins!

The four Toads here are so panicked, we have to herd them to the area below. There's a nice block here that can add extra seconds to the timer. We can't herd the toads out of here because the purple rocks are in the way. Must find a way to deal with them first before doing this event.

Back outside, the Green Toad in front of the shops welcomes us to the tiny shopping district and says they're more about quality than quantity.

In the item shop, the Yellow Toad says he could go for some coconut water right now. The shopkeeper says doesn't the sea air just loosens our purse strings up? Nice sales pitch.

In the gear shop, the Green Toad says there are a lot of employees, but not a lot of customers. Sure enough, the shopkeeper has two Blue Toad employees back there and jokes how we should buy a lot, since he doesn't get many customers. I don't buy anything from these shops and continue looking around the village.

Across the natural bridge, a normal Toad says how he was here on vacation, but then his boat heading home disappeared in a storm, so he's stuck here. He's fine though, as it's stuck in paradise he is! He asks if we're on vacation here too. Not exactly but we are stuck here too. The Blue Toad here is a big fan of battle cards and says we should check out the card shop here. In the Toad House here, a regular Toad asks if we ever heard about an amulet that grants everlasting life and about the pirates here that buried it long ago and how they're now ghosts. Then he says he made it all up to amuse himself as he's bored here! Had me going there! The Yellow Toad here talks about the Lakitu Info Centre here that just popped up and hopes they don't have private info on him!

In the newly opened card shop, the Green Toad says he's competing with the Yellow Toad here in collecting the most battle cards. The Yellow Toad says the Green Toad has been giving him the evil eye all day and guesses correctly that he's challenging him to compete for the biggest battle card collection. He also says he's not going to back down, even though he usually avoids drama like this. The Blue Toad behind the counter advises us on what card to use, depending on our situation. The regular Toad behind the counter just sells the cards and says no two are the same... I suppose that's another collectable then! The Yellow Toad behind the counter tells us about shiny battle cards that are much rarer than their normal versions, they can't be bought in stores and they cost half the amount of star points when used. Hmm... so much to think about here. I don't buy anything yet.

23 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Exploring Twinsy Tropics, Meeting Escapee Toads And Koopa Troopas

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about exploring Twinsy Tropics, chatting with the escapee Toads and fighting Koopa Troopas.

We're finally out of the dungeon! We come out in an area with Toads and Koopa Troopas. The music here is a gentle melody with maracas and steel drum music playing. It's much more mellow than the beach music in Dream Team Bros., which was very upbeat. It's still nice here though.

The Toad that greets us promises to help us scope out the area. The Blue Toad here says there must be a Toad Village around here but he's afraid to go looking for it due to all the baddies around here. There's a sign here that points out the location of the Toad Village to the west.

We head east(like a bunch of rebels!). Here, a Yellow Toad says he feels helpless since they escaped from the dungeon. The Toads scattered and now here's a dead end. The Green Toad here is more optimistic and points out the red grab poles we can use now, since learning the Trio Grab. Must backtrack and explore later! We explore this area for now, which is mostly quiet, apart from a bunch of ? blocks. I find the Filler Brooch here for Paper Mario. Before I forget again, I give the Fighter Hammer to Luigi and the Filler Wear to Mario. This place goes nowhere, but there is stuff to collect here and there are nice papercraft islands here matching with the real islands!

We head West and meet the first Koopa Troopas in the game. They attack by spinning into us and we can sometimes knock them out of their shells and send them flying back. I've sussed how to keep enemies on screen while trying to pass the dodge challenges: I have to fail Bros. Attacks on purpose. This feels very awkward, but it's the only way I can guarantee minimal damage, so they aren't defeated before I can pass the challenge. I want the idle option back!

We meet another Blue Toad who's enjoying the scenery. It feels like a nice holiday and that being in jail was just like a bad dream. Another regular Toad says it's nice to be out of doing that toiling work but that it's so sunny it's blinding. He hopes he doesn't bump into a baddie. Strangely enough, they seem to be co-existing with the Toads here peacefully! The Yellow Toad thinks the place is beautiful, but wonders how they're gonna get home. He hopes he doesn't have to swim, as he doesn't have his bathing suit.

On the next screen, I find the Counter Belt and give it to Mario. The Blue Toad here appears to be one of the scholars! He's too busy contemplating what's beyond the sea right now, so we'll catch up with him later.

On the next screen, we meet Paper Koopa Troopas. They attack in a similar fashion to their real world counterparts. The Toad Village is here too. I'll explore it next time.

22 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Battle Cards, Facing Wendy & Roy

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about a new game mechanic introduced to us by the next character we meet. I'll also talk about the boss fight with Wendy and Roy.

In the next cell, a Paper Goomba spots us and calls for our attention. He says he's the Paper Goomba we stomped twice back in Sunbeam Plains! After failing so much, he got demoted to being a janitor and accidentally locked himself in the cell while mopping. Mario just says "Let's a go!" and our group decides to move on and ignore him. "Wait!" he says, and pleads to know how we got free. He wants to be his own Goomba and stop working for Bowser. Man, I'd love to introduce this guy to TheLonelyGoomba on YouTube! They could become good friends! Speaking of him, I wonder if he'll do anything inspired by this game? I'm a big fan of his! :) Anyway, we continue to ignore him and walk off. Once again, he calls out for us and says he'll give us something good in return if we help him get out of here. He gives us a battle card set. Is this some Amiibo thing? Paper Mario shows him how to get out by turning sideways, which impresses him a lot! He soon does the same thing and comes out of the cell. Just then, more Hammer Bros. show up!

The Paper Goomba takes this opportunity to show us how to use the battle cards. Oh boy, here's another dimension to the gameplay! It's well worth taking the time to read about it here. Now I know what those green counters are for in item shops! They'll all be open now after this I suppose. Pretty nice of him to show us how these work. After his tutorial, he says he might see us later and then runs off to find a way out of the dungeon himself. On checking the guide, I see there are new challenges all centred around these cards! They really are encouraging participation! I like the badges from the last game though, so I'll give these cards a chance.

So moving on, we see the next jailtoad trying to use a crack in the wall to escape. He can't fit through and he won't move! That means we'll have to come back later when we've rescued them I suppose? There's a Paper Mario block back there so I better keep this in mind for later!

I spend the next few battles getting used to this card system. Seems a bit like busywork right now but it's a nice extra all the same.

Mario levels up to Boomerang Rank! For this I give him an extra gear slot. I can use extra stuff like gloves and badges now. Not sure what to do with them yet, but I earn another pair of Trusty Boots, so I give them to Mario.

We eventually get to a warp pipe but then, Roy Koopa and Wendy O. Koopa show up! Not an easy boss battle, and we die quite a few times! The cards do help quite a bit alright though with little things. Wendy's rings and Roy's massive wand beam thing are both tough to avoid! I have no idea how to avoid Wendy's shell attack either. I manage the battle quite clumsily but I manage to beat them both. I get the Filler Wear from Wendy and the Fighter Hammer from Roy.

I also level Luigi and Paper Mario to Boomerang Rank! I give Luigi the extra gear slot and for Paper Mario I increase the Star Point Max by 10. Might come in handy with this new card system we're using.

Roy and Wendy turn around and leave in a huff. It's a good thing Larry wasn't with them this time! Just when we're about to leave, a stampede of Toads run past us and escape! I guess we can go back to that guy's cell from before and get the item without him in the way! It turns out to be 3 1-ups. At least it wasn't far away.

21 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Starlow's a JERK, Slave Toads and Jail Toads

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about how much of a MEANIE Starlow is and about meeting the Toads forced to work for Bowser by mining ore.

Back to us and our escape from Twinsy Tropics Dungeon. We come across Paper Scaredy Rats, who like to run around us as their attack or at us in a straight line. We can use our Trio Grab here to pull wooden bridges across gaps where they can be found. There are also some more of those weird cracked purple rocks here.

In the next area, we come across a big spiky door with Bowser's face on it. Starlow relays Luigi's babbling as this being something we should remember because it's always some kind of foreshadowing device, with the word "foreshadowing" in big font. Wow...

Then, when Luigi gets himself upset about all the Toads calling for his help, she says that's not realistic as they'll be calling for Mario's help. Wow...

Then, she listens to Mario's input and says "Good thinking!" before going right up to the camera in eye popping 3D and says to me, the player, "Now back to the adventure!". Wow!

Starlow's a jerk! I know that Luigi being in Mario's shadow is a running gag but still! How mean!

So, moving on to the left along the conveyor belt, we see two Toads heave one of those big purple rocks. They tell us they're all aches and pains from the labour they're forced to do. The conveyor belt brings the purple rocks to Bowser's Castle but they don't know what they're used for. They can't escape because of the guards and one of them is coming so we have to hide nearby.

Roy Koopa appears and gives out to the Toads for not toiling. He leaves soon and the coast is clear.

Moving on to the next area we find Rally Wear but I don't give it to anyone yet. I keep messing up in trying to pass the Paper Hammer Bros. dodge challenge! They fake out some of their hammer throws!

Soon, we come across another jailtoad. He says he can't figure out what Bowser wants with the purple ore. It couldn't be food or jewelry so maybe it's a fuel source. He ponders this to pass the time.

20 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Escaping Twinsy Tropics Dungeon with Trio Grab, Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr. Hate Guard Duty

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about escaping the Twinsy Tropics Dungeon, learning the Trio Grab to get the key. Some story also happens in Bowser's Castle.

After recovering our move blocks from the Hammer Bros., we go to the next screen and have to deal with a couple of more. After them, there's a big locked door and a sign nearby that warns about a rickety bridge. It leads to a big key that'll help us escape though, so we go down through the little tunnel and try to get it anyway.

Paper Mario should've crossed that bridge on his own! He's made of paper! He wouldn't be heavy enough to make that bridge break, right? Instead, it breaks under all our weight and we fall down the big hole. I love the echo from Mario's voice as he says "Oh no!".

If it wasn't for that happening though, we wouldn't have climbed back up by ourselves and discovered the next move! Starlow comes out to check on us and we show her the new move: Trio Grab! The joyful Super Mario Bros. 1-1 reprise starts playing again. :) I also love the way the characters look at the camera when we're learning something! Loved that in Dream Team Bros., where crowds of people looked at the camera during the first tutorials!

With this, we can all stand on each other shoulders. With Paper Mario in the middle, we can stretch and reach stuff that's far away. From the guide, I see that we can grab those red posts now! When we get out of here, we'll have to do some backtracking to posts we saw earlier and maybe find some secrets!

When we open the door, some story takes place in Bowser's Castle. Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr. are about to throw the book away, when they figure it could come in handy for some future fun and mayhem. They decide to show it to their dads, who are nearby and delighted at the news from Magikoopa and Paper Magikoopa that they captured the Mario Bros. and Paper Mario. They also have Toads captured and doing physical labour, as we heard earlier from the jailtoad.

Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr. try to get their dads' attention, but they say they're too busy and order them to go guard the princesses. They even mix their own sons up! The juniors throw a tantrum, saying guard duty is boring. Magikoopa suggests taking them to the villa, whatever's in store there...

Meanwhile, Princess Peach and Paper Princess Peach are in their cage. Paper Peach brings out the cardboard replica of herself and the other Peach says "If I have to say, "Save me, Mario!" one more time, I'm going to scream" which is pretty funny! Can't blame them for feeling frustrated about being kidnapped! The Bowser Jr.s then show up, announce that they're heading to the villa and that they're taking the Peaches with them.

19 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Hammer Bros. stole our moves!

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about running into a bunch of Hammer Bros. and how they stole our moves, leaving us only being able to use defensive manoeuvres while they attack! It's a clever idea!

We're all at about level 10 now. Exploring further to the right, we meet a caged Blue Toad who tells us about this special ore that Bowser's Minions are trying to find. Is it that purple rock we found earlier? The Yellow Toad in another cage nearby says they're being forced to mine this ore. He says he's not cut out for this kind of work and that "I barely even have legs, man!"

All of a sudden, 5 Hammer Bros. confront us. They laugh at us when we get into fighting stance because they stole our move blocks! I love the cartoony shocked look on Mario & Luigi's faces when they see what was stolen!

The mission to retrieve the blocks starts! The Hammer Bros. attack by throwing hammers at us or over our heads. Just need to know when and when not to jump ourselves. From the first guy, we recover the Flee block. It's interesting how we can only use dodge attacks here. From the second guy, we recover Rocket Blast and Drill Shell. I notice that we're able to skip taking our moves by pressing R to idle. Did we have access to that before? I can't really remember. It'll be handy for winning the enemy dodging challenges, which I do on the third guy for the Hammer Bros. challenge. From him we get the Hammer Block back and some Trusty Boots. I give them to Luigi. I give the Retribution Wear to Mario. Forgot that earlier. On engaging the fourth guy, I see that a Paper Hammer Bro has joined him and we can't use idle anymore! That sucks! Getting those challenges will be tougher now! On beating them we get the Trio Kite back. After we beat the fifth guy, we recover everything else.

Now we can try to get out of here! What about those jailtoads though? I guess we'll see later.

18 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Kidnapped by Koopalings!

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about some story where the Koopalings show up and abduct us!

The cannonball was shot from the cannon on top of Bowser's Castle. Bowser gives out to his minion for missing us. They shoot another and barely miss us, making us fall to the ground. Just then, the Koopalings show up! Roy, Wendy, Ludwig and Larry surround us while we're flat on our faces! Where are the other three?

They order some Chargin' Chucks to come along and take us away, making us drop the Paper Mushroom Kingdom Book. Roy wonders why there aren't paper versions of themselves and then spots the book. He decides it's unimportant. "Into the trash it goes!" he says, before being interrupted by Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr., who claim the book as theirs.

Meanwhile, Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario are locked up in a cell, bound by rope and unconscious. Paper Mario wakes up and shrivels himself, making his ropes fall to the ground. He then uses a paper cut to get through Mario & Luigi's ropes and they wake up too. Paper Mario then turns sideways and slips between the bars, before smashing the lock with his hammer. We're free!

Luigi looks for the book but can't find it. This upsets him, so Paper Mario folds into a handkerchief for him! When Luigi feels better, Paper Mario wrings himself out like a towel. It's pretty funny and clever!

In a cell nearby, a Toad tells us we're in Twinsy Tropics Dungeon. I suppose that's how we get here. All he can do is eavesdrop and he tells us that Bowser's minions are collecting some special material in this area, whatever it is.

There are two paths here to take. Left or right. Which one to pick? Hmm... The left path goes to a dead end with some wooden structure and cracked purple rocks at the other side of the water. Is this the special material?

17 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Papercraft Luigi vs Papercraft Kamek

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about the papercraft battle against Papercraft Kamek with Papercraft Luigi.

This time we have a hammer we can use to deal damage to spiky enemies like the Papercraft Pokeys. Some Papercraft Goombas are here as well in this desert arena. Charging and jumping is just like with Papercraft Mario, except Papercraft Luigi has its hammer. The Toad recruiting rhythm is a little different this time too.

After taking care of those enemies, Papercraft Kamek appears. It has a blue barrier around it so we can't charge into it unless it's dazed. We have to keep jumping on top of it instead. After a while, it can spread its barrier out and can shoot Paper Magikoopa beams at us too.

When we defeat it, we get Retribution Wear, Super Mushroom, Candy and a Double 1-Up Mushroom.

I kind of like the Papercraft battles. They're not too difficult and you don't have to rapidly tap the screen like I remember with the Giant Bowser battles in Bowser's Inside Story. The Giant Luigi ones in Dream Team Bros got pretty tough and complicated at times too.

After taking care of them, we press on, only to see a giant cannonball fall from the sky and smash the bridge between us and Bowser's Castle! Oh no!

16 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Path to Twinsy Tropics, clear bridge to Bowser's Castle

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about exploring the desert along the path to Twinsy Tropics and about running into Papercraft Kamek on the way to Bowser's Castle.

I equip some gear on my characters. I give Paper Mario the Thin Wear. Not sure what I'll do with the HP Gloves or the Mix Badge yet.

Next is the clear bridge to Bowser's Castle. We can bounce back up here or use a warp pipe. I decide to check out what Twinsy Tropics is like first though so we head there. Along the way I pass the Paper Spiny avoiding challenge. Still cannot avoid those Sandmarrghs for the life of me though.

I can't get to Twinsy Tropics because of some water in the way so I head towards Bowser's Castle instead.

Just then, Magikoopa and Paper Magikoopa show up with a giant Papercraft Kamek! They argue over whether it looks ugly or beautiful. They're about to attack when the Paper Toads come up behind us with a Papercraft Luigi! It's battle time!

I wonder if I should say Magikoopa or Kamek? it's Kamek for the papercraft anyway so I'll stick with that there. I guess I'll keep calling the two Magikoopa for now.

15 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Pokey and Paper Pokey

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about facing off against this twin boss with their intimidating spiky bodies and grinning faces.

We head back to the spot in Doop Doop Dunes Grotto and place the Paper Trampoline in the spot under the cliff where we can reach the Pokeys. It launches us high up into the air, too high in fact! However, we're able to land on the cliff and take on the Pokeys.

They're not too difficult, we just can't jump on them or anything. The Paper Pokey is wearing a crown like the ones we saw in Sticker Star, interestingly enough. There is one attack the real one has where he rolls up and down and it's hard to avoid because of our positions. When we knock out segments of their bodies, their heads fall on their sides and we can stomp on them then at least.

I don't think I talked about Trio Kite yet. In this, we turn the enemy into a kite and we all take turns in running with it to make it gain height by pressing the buttons rapidly. When we get high enough, Paper Mario runs up the line and smashes it down to the ground with his hammer. It's fun to run along but again, all that rapid button pressing!

MIX Badge and Thin Wear are the prizes we get here. After we beat them, there's a little area beyond we can get to. Be sure to check out the crack that Paper Mario can access!

14 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Desert Toad Village, Paper Trampoline

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about wandering around the Toad Village in the desert and about the Paper Trampoline we have to get through rescuing Toads in Lakitu's missions.

We wander around the Toad Village in the desert, talking to people. The Toad in the south west house tells us the Paper World book is very special and that Luigi had better take care of it. Outside, a Toad tells us about Trio Hammer being able to flip those cardboard slabs on the ground. A Yoshi is at the southeast entrance. He tells us that this way goes to the coast. The water's so warm he wishes he was coming with us. The Toad in the southeast house tells us about pre-emptive strikes before going into battle. In the northern part of the village, a Toad complains about the heat. Another says he's seen everything with the Paper Toads. One of the scholar Toads is here too and he gives us a quiz.

He asks and we answer:
- 13 coins minus 8 coins? 5 coins
- Who uses the Drill Shell? Luigi
- Which of the following has spikes on its body(I think, trying to remember)? Pokey
- Which of the following has wings? Paratroopa
- What is the maximum number of kicks you can do with a 3D Red Shell? 7

He gives us 3 defence beans as a prize.

In the northwestern house, there are two Toads. One asks us if we've ever really looked at the sun. He hasn't either as it'll break his eyeballs for sure. The other says Bowser's Castle is to the east beyond the desert and asks if we're sure we want to go there as it's pretty active there lately.

In the item shop, there's a green Toad that tells us we should be equipping the gear we've been collecting. There's another Toad who deals in those buying and selling of those Amiibo cards. The vendors all have different personalities. The gear shop Toad is loud and outgoing, the item shop Toad is normal and the Toad at the green counter is shy and awkward and isn't open yet.

There's a paper warp pipe in the village here and it brings us to the Toad Village in Sunbeam Plains. Here, there's a clumsy delivery Toad who keeps dropping his mushrooms. We can do a mission here where we must chase after him and collect all 60 mushrooms he drops along the way. On the first screen, we have 40 seconds to collect them, 30 on the next screen and 20 on the screen after.

We head back to the desert Toad Village and visit the Lakitu Info Centre there. There are two missions we need to do to find more Paper Toads.

The first is The Stone Prison. It's a fun puzzle where we move left and right in tiled positions in the desert. We must break stone blocks to allow the Paper Toads to drop to the ground without them getting squished by said blocks.

The second is Quicksand Rescue. Again we move left and right in tiled positions. We must catch the Toads sliding down the sandy slope while dealing with the obstacles coming down. Some are bombs, some are blocks that may need to have the Trio Hammer used on them. There are coins to collect for a nice bit of extra challenge. This is really fun too!

I'm really liking these little missions. They remind me of one of AlphaDream's earlier games, Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue. That was an amazing game that you should play if you like this one!

There are also harder versions of some of the other Toad catching missions that we've done lately, so we do them all as well.

When we do the essential missions, a Paper Trampoline gets delivered to us promptly. Toadette has them all working pretty hard!

13 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Fly Guy Invasion

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about getting stuck in Doop Doop Dunes Grotto and rescuing the Paper Toads in the desert Toad Village from the Fly Guys.

Since the last session I completely forgot how to do the Trio Hammer thing and I got stuck behind some cactus balls! I remembered though and then was able to make my way through the cave.

The Sandmaarghs I'm having a tough time dodging. They're a bit too big and fast at the moment. I managed to get the Spiny avoiding challenge complete though.

Plenty more of those cactus ball puzzles along the way too. When we get through them all, we reach a pipe that takes us above ground to a desert Toad Village. A Paper Toad greets us and asks for help. Then a Paper Toad rescuing mission starts and it's timed! There are 7 to rescue from Fly Guys in 20 minutes. The Fly Guys attack by dropping spiked balls and bombs and charging into us.

The first we see held captive near a bouncy pad. When we rescue him he thanks us and thought he was going to be flying around forever. The second we see flying high and we have to break some blocks and bounce up to his rescue. He's glad to be back walking on terra firma. The third is flying around in a circle and we have to hit a cactus ball at his captor. When we rescue him he says we sure know our way around a hammer. The fourth is held over some Sandmarrghs and asks for our autographs when we rescue him. Here we have to be careful not to bump into the Sandmarrghs! I bumped into one and they eat up time! The fifth is around this area too and says it's a good thing we showed up, because he was going to really mess the Fly Guys up. Bit of a tough guy this one. The sixth and seventh are both held by Fly Guys hovering over a slope. It's a good thing we can stay on the slope by running against it. If it was like in Super Mario 64, it would be rage inducing! These guys are also accompanied by Paper Bob-ombs and they can be really nasty to deal with. If you can whack the angry copies into their cohorts, then the battle will go even better than you can expect! The sixth wonders why they picked him to kidnap and the seventh calls us his heroes.

After completing the event with about 8 minutes to go, we're back at the desert Toad Village. They thank us and Starlow asks them for something that'll help us jump really high. Shortly, Lakitu shows up and informs us that we'll need 8 more Paper Toads to do it.

1 StreetPass Mii Plaza - Cleared StreetPass Quest with under 30 heroes

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about how the heck I did this! There are a few things I needed and a really good guide posted on the gamefaqs.com message boards.

Here's what I needed:
- A LOT of Play Coins. I started with the maximum 300 and finished with 95 left.
- A level 7 Red Mii met several times through StreetPass.
- A level 7 Blue Mii met several times through StreetPass.
- A level 7 White Mii met several times through StreetPass.
- A level 4(or over) Light Blue Mii. I chose a level 5 just to be safe.

The guide can be found on the fifth post of this link. Many thanks to AdamantBMage!

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/625899-streetpass-mii-plaza/67338804

I'll post it here too:

1 RED lv7:
01: Ghost - kill with red magic
02: Ghostx2 - kill with red magic
03: Blue Ghost - attack with red magic

2 RED lv7:
03: Blue Ghost - kill with red magic
04: Ghost (yellow shield) & Blue Ghost - attack with red magic (kills Ghost)

3 BLUE lv7:
04: Blue Ghost - kill with sword
05: Armored Ghost - kill with blue magic
06: Blood Ghost - attack with blue magic

4 BLUE lv 7:
06: Blood Ghost - attack with blue magic

5 RED lv7:
06: Blood Ghost - kill with sword
07: Blue Ghost & Armored Ghost - attack with red magic (kills Armored Ghost)

6 RED lv7 & 7 LIGHT BLUE lv4+:
07: Blue Ghost - RED lv7 kill with red magic
08: Blue Ghost (light blue shield) & Armor Ghost - LIGHT BLUE lv4 attack Blue Ghost with sword, RED lv7 kill with red magic
09: Blood Ghost - RED lv7 attack with sword

8 BLUE lv 7:
09: Blood Ghost - attack with blue magic

9 BLUE lv 7:
09: Blood Ghost - kill with blue magic
10: Armored Demon - attack with blue magic

10: BLUE/RED lv 7:
10: Armored Demon - kill with blue/red magic
11: Armored Ghost & Armored Demon - attack with blue/red magic (kills Armored Ghost)

11: WHITE lv 7:
11: Armored Demon - kill with sword
12: DARKNESS - auto-light

12: BLUE/RED lv 7:
12: Armored Demonx2 - attack with blue/red magic

13: BLUE/RED lv 7:
12: Armored Demonx2 - kill with blue/red magic
13: Armored Fiend - attack with sword

14-30: ANY lv7
13: Armored Fiend/Ultimate Ghost - attack/kill with sword

There we have it. Some of my Miis missed a few times with sword swings but I still managed to finish comfortably within the 30 hero limit. I was a bit nervous about it so I kept picking just one hero at a time. This guide was very handy, so thanks again AdamantBMage and the person who posted it on the Japanese Wiki in the first place!

12 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Trio Hammer, Pokey Ambush

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about learning some more new moves and about the treacherous bridge where the Pokey and Paper Pokey lurk.

Starlow teaches us about the Trio Hammer, a move that uses all three of our hammers to break big cracked rocks. Nice move. We head south afterwards but maybe we shouldn't have. A Sandmarrgh and a Paper Bob-omb are here. We try out the Rocket Blast. It's quite nice and I'm not just saying that because of namesakes! You don't have to press buttons rapidly, just time 2 hits and steer for the last hit.

We finally make it up the hill and walk along the bridge, but there is a Pokey and a Paper Pokey waiting for us here! They shake the bridge and we fall off all the way down into Doop Doop Dunes Grotto. They are tall Pokeys. We can see their lower bodies down here.

Now we must find a way to get those Pokeys out of the way. We meet Paper Spinies down here too. With each new enemy, more expert challenges pop up. Looks like more Sandmarrghs are down here as well and we're not used to fighting them yet. We've got our hands full!

The music down here in Doop Doop Dunes Grotto is pretty cool though. It's a variation of the Super Mario Bros. underground theme but played with low piano keys and a cymbal tap. It gives the feeling of the place being kinda dangerous and also kind of like it's some kind of spy thriller going on.

11 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Chasing Nabbit Across Doop Doop Dunes, Bowser Assembly

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about the new area, Doop Doop Dunes. Spinies and Nabbit are found here.

On entering Doop Doop Dunes, we can see Bowser's Castle in the distance. A cutscene plays here from within the castle. The Paper minions are meeting with the normal minions. Some of them get along, some don't. A Hammer Bro wonders how a hammer made of paper could hurt and a Paper Hammer Bro offers to show him!

The two Bowsers hold an assembly and get their combined armies to cheer and rally to defeat Mario. They argue over who gets to address them and keep pushing each other out of the way.

Meanwhile, Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr. are the best of friends. They decide they don't want anyone to go back to the Paper World because it would be boring, so they begin plotting to find the book. Hope they don't interrogate the Toad Scholar from the village!

Back to us in Doop Doop Dunes. The music here has nice sitar-like plunking and a decent beat. I start comparing it to the Dozing Sands music from Dream Team Bros though. This is quite unfair, since that theme has two amazing variations, one of which has this awesome, belly-dancing beat. I feel this is going to haunt Paper Jam Bros as a sequel. :(

This area is mainly made up of Spinies. We can use our hammers on them. Again, it's kind of tough getting the challenge to dodge several of them in a row since they die out quickly enough! We also spot Nabbit and give chase. He drops the Drill Shell, which is another Bros. Attack.

With the Drill Shell, Luigi puts it on his head. Mario makes him dive head first onto an enemy and then you must press the B button rapidly to drill and try to get an "Excellent" hit. I'm not that crazy about pressing buttons rapidly, but it's a nice enough move.

When we go onto the next screen, sneaky Nabbit spooks us by appearing right behind us in line! Then, Magikoopa and Paper Magikoopa appear. They make big paper walls and scenery fall from the sky. Now we know who made the ones from earlier...

At some stage, I find the Shell Gloves with Paper Mario's crevice excavation and he also ranks up. I give him an extra gear slot.

At one point, we try to hammer a button, but then Nabbit pops out from behind the rock and steals all three of our hammers! We have to chase him around some kind of makeshift desert racetrack with hazardous edges and catch him three times. At some stage he drops another Bros. Attack, the Rocket Blast. I'll continue on later.

10 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - First Papercraft Battle, Megacrinkle Goomba

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about the first Papercraft Battle! At least, I expect it's the first of many. I guess you can compare it to the Impact battles from Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon or the giant Luigi or Bowser battles from previous games, in that you're a giant and you're doing all these tactical remote movements to fight on a grand scale. It's a fun theme in Japanese popular culture.

On leaving Toad Village, we find that the Goombas came back with reinforcements and they lift the papercraft Goomba. Then Toadette shows up with a papercraft Mario, lifted by the Toads. The battle begins!

Battles take place in a 3D Arena with spectators from both sides standing on surrounding cliffs and hills cheering on. Attacking is done by charging into the enemy and by throwing the papercraft Mario on top of them. The music is fun and fast paced and gives you the impression that someone's going somewhere in a hurry.

We beat some of the Goombas and then they get angry, so they bring out a big one with a crown called the Megacrinkle Goomba. This one moves around faster but is manageable enough. When we beat it, we get an iron ball hammer, which I give to Luigi; and the Mush Jams, which I'll save for later. I'll add gear slots for stuff like this.

With the papercraft Goomba out the way, we make our way to Doop Doop Dunes!

9 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - First Lakitu Info Centre missions

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about our time in Toad Village and checking out the Lakitu Info Centre. I like the missions we can do here!

We hang out in Toad Village for a while and have a chat with the residents. One fun-guy(sorry) wants to travel the world. We head into a Green Toad's house. He introduces himself as a know-it-all Toad and we accept his knowledge quiz.

He asks and we answer with the following:

1. What happens when an enemy attacks from behind? We Fall down.
2. What item do Mario and Luigi kick during one of their Bros. Attacks? Red Shell.
3. How did Paper Mario make his first appearance in this adventure? He fluttered down from the sky.
4. Who is this? Nabbit.
5. Where did you first find the book that contained all the paper characters? The storage closet in Peach's Castle.

For getting all the questions right we get some coins and 3 Heart Beans. The Green Toad says there are 4 other know-it-all Toads out there waiting for a challenge, so we'll meet them later.

Speaking to more villagers. One points us to the Lakitu Info Centre. Another tells us about a creepy Toad that disappears when he looks at him.

We head into the item shop. The Green Toad here tells us about the ZL and ZR buttons on a New 3DS. I try using a Circle Pad Pro since it has those buttons. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. :( The other Toad advises us on 1up mushrooms.

The Yellow Toad in the gear shop tells us about shoes and hammers and that Paper Mario has different gear to the rest of us.

I forgot about the Sandwich Boots I found earlier! I give them to Mario. I don't buy anything here.

We head into the Lakitu Info Centre. It's like a newspaper office and the music makes it sound a bit festive, like Santa's Workshop! The Lakitu here offers to help us find the Paper Toads for 5,000 coins. We can't afford it so we try to leave, but Lakitu calls us back and offers us the Stache special, which locates them for 10 coins. Big difference there!

He tells us about quests we can access directly from here, such as finding Paper Toads and doing the quiz from earlier. We can do them in hard mode too. We try the Paper Toad Hide-and-Seek mission, which takes place here in the village.

10 Paper Toads to find here. The first is stuck to the sign of the item shop. He's glad Bowser's minions didn't find him first. Second and Third we find are blue ones hidden behind a rock and they must be chased around the Spinny Flowers. One of them says he knew it was us, he just really likes running. The other says he'd be done for if anyone else besides us caught him. In the pen we find the 4th and 5th. The green 4th one asks what took us so long, the 5th is glad to be found because of bathroom reasons! The 6th is a yellow one wrapped around the white fence. He's quite proud of his hiding place. We can look for them in the houses too. In one house there are normal Toads. The green one says it's a standing party. The yellow one says he hasn't seen this much paper flying around since the great notebook explosion of '03. The blue one wonders what the Paper Toads do when it's windy. The other Toad says we'll have to look really carefully to find the Paper Toads. The 7th is here and is blue, so we have to chase him around the table and catch him. He thought he could hide among the others. We head to the item shop and hear an "OW!". It's the 8th and he congratulates us for being the 42nd, 43rd and 44th people to walk on him today. In the gear shop, we find the 9th on top of a potted plant folded into a pyramid. He thought nobody would find him. The purple 10th one is here too, but we have to tell the shopkeeper to look behind him. That's the mission!

Next we try Paper Toad Pursuit. It takes place in Sunbeam Plains and all the Paper Toads are blue! They stack into three groups of four and start running! We catch the first group and the rest of them decide to split up so that they'll be faster. We herd them and make them stack into each other, making them slow again. Then we catch them all at once, finishing the mission!

When we finish missions, we earn star coins. Not sure what we can use them for yet.

At the other Lakitu desk, we can try more missions. We try the hard version of the Paper Toad Corral mission from earlier. It's a little harder but not too hard of a herding game. We pass it.

We try the harder Paper Toad Pursuit mission too, which uses a time limit. We pass it with about 19.70 seconds left.

Last mission for now is a harder version of the Toad Scholar quiz from earlier. 8 questions this time. Time limit too, so I won't write them down. We manage to pass it and that's all the Lakitu missions for now. Next time we must rendezvous with Toadette back at the papercraft! Lakitu says the Paper Toads we rescued have been working hard at something.

1 Splatoon - 10 Matches in Squad Battle

Dear Readers,

Let's talk about a Splatoon session I had recently! It's one of the biggest and freshest Nintendo online games of the moment! I played it a lot during the Summer when it came out and it's great fun!

I teamed up with a friend for a Squad Battle. When I started, I was at rank C+. I used the Splattershot Jr. for the whole session.

In the rotation, the stages were Flounder Heights and Hammerhead Bridge and the mode was Tower Control.

Match 1:

First time in Flounder Heights and I had no idea of my bearings! I just skirted along the rooftops, building up my Bubbler. Soon, I saw the enemies on the tower. Between all of us they got splatted, so we took over the tower and rode it to the other side. They tried to reclaim the tower but I put on my Bubbler just in time so they couldn't do anything. This lead to a knockout victory for us! Not bad for my first try on this level!

Match 2:

Flounder Heights. Didn't fare so well this time... I tried to hide and ambush someone on their team but then another member came at from me from behind. I didn't stand a chance there. They took advantage of this setback and rode the tower all the way, knocking us out.

Match 3:

Flounder Heights. I did manage to commandeer the tower and ride it some of the way but I was splatted before I had a chance to activate my Bubbler. I also got disconnected! My friend didn't though and gave me the good news that we won anyway!

Match 4:

First time on Hammerhead Bridge! They had a good Splatterscope user. Was splatted a lot. I did manage to skillfully dodge some Inkzooka blasts but that scope user still got me! Try as I might, I couldn't stop them from riding the tower all the way and knocking us out.

Match 5:

Hammerhead Bridge. It was full on with the heavy artillery here. At one point, I cornered a single enemy that was riding the tower, but just before I splatted them, they managed to launch an Inkstrike right on top of me! Gah! I was too distracted with the tower to notice too! No knockout this time, but we lost 69 to 85.

After this match, Callie and Marie appear in a report with the new rotation! The stages are now Blackbelly Skatepark and Camp Triggerfish and the mode is Splat Zones.

Match 6:

Camp Triggerfish. Much of this match was weeding out sneaky squids and sacrificing myself to keep the Splat Zone secure. In the end we lost 32 to 39. So close! After so many losses, I dropped in rank from C+ to C as well.

Match 7:

Blackbelly Skatepark. On starting, I spent a bit of time making a little ink path and immediately got splatted by a Gold Roller that came out of nowhere! After this I stuck to the middle with the Splat Zones and flitted back and forth, constantly securing and resecuring them. I managed to dodge and splat a lot of the enemy as well. Our team were really powerful during this match! We won 68 to 20! I managed to rank up once more to C+!

Match 8:

Blackbelly Skatepark. Some tough work resecuring the Splat Zones in this match. Especially because of an Octobrush user who always seemed to be on my tail. They didn't get the better of me though, because we got a very close win of 39 to 38! That little bit of overtime helped too!

Match 9:

Blackbelly Skatepark. They had two very skilled snipers on their team so I had to do a lot of hiding while trying to secure Splat Zones from a distance. We lost 35 to 48.

Match 10:

Camp Triggerfish. It was almost impossible to secure anything from them. They were pretty full on with their weapons and ambushed me from behind several times. They were highly alert and ready to make us lose by knockout.

Very fun session and I managed to retain rank C+ after all that! I levelled up to 27 too. My vibe was Toasty, so Judd gave me 100 coins.

8 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Ranking up, Toadette's Giant Papercraft

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about reaching Shell Rank and the events introducing the giant papercraft figures.

I continue to go after the Bowsers and face more enemies. I level up enough to graduate from Mushroom Rank to Shell Rank. It's Mario and I give him the stache boost.

There's another block with that same mini-game from before. It seems I can play it in lots of places and go for the high score.

I graduate to Shell Rank with Luigi too. I give him the DEF UP+ boost. Not sure if these are the right things to do! But we'll see.

Soon, we come across a large bunch of Paper Toads. They flee towards us. Behind them is a Paper Magikoopa and he's built a large papercraft Goomba out of cardboard! Suspicious jazzy music plays here and it's pretty cool. The real Goombas dump it on the ground, blocking the path and Paper Magikoopa gives out to them. Then he flies off for reinforcements. The Paper Toads run away too.

We all stand in front of the big papercraft Goomba blocking the way and we hear a familiar voice behind us. It's Toadette! She takes a look at it and gets super inspired. She tells us when she's finished with her papercraft, it'll make this one look like a used take-out box. She needs more Paper Toad helpers though, and the ones we just met ran off in a different direction. They ran towards Toad Village and the papercraft Goomba is blocking the way to Doop Doop Dunes. Toadette waits for us here.

On arriving in Toad Village, a Paper Toad catching event starts! We're to herd the Paper Toads in a pen and not let them escape through the entrance. It's quite short and easy. Though there are 20 of them, they're not too much trouble. Thankfully so! Herding mini-games can be pretty annoying!

Toadette shows up and thanks us. She asks us to find as many Toads as possible for her papercraft construction. Lakitu hears this and comes along with his Paper Toad carrying service. We'll find out more next time.

7 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Trio Attack, Bowsers kidnap Peaches, First Boss, Amiibo

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about the Giant Paper Hammer, Bowsers kidnapping Peaches, facing Petey Piranha and the Amiibo features of the game.

Advancing forward, the Blue Toad with the delivery bag gives us a block with a big star on it. It can turn into a giant cardboard hammer during battle! The Paper Toads we just rescued made it and gave it to us as a present. Let's see what it can do...

We get attacked by a big group of Goombas. Starlow comes out and tells us about this new thing called a Trio Attack, where we attack using all three characters. This first one turns all the bad guys into paper with the giant hammer and pins them on the wall. Then all three of us take turns hitting a black ball with a star on it against them with rackets. The excellent hit breaks the wall completely. The 3D depth feature is kinda neat here but not essential.

In preview videos, this seemed a bit contrived after the enemies got walloped with a giant hammer, but it's actually quite fun.

More expert challenges to do! I'm addled in deciding which ones to go for. I'm trying to get the Biddybud Dodge one but they're too easy to defeat now!

Up ahead, some of the trees and hills are made of paper. Then we see a big cardboard wall with Bowser's face on it. What we can do here is dash into the orange spring and launch ourselves through it. On crossing the bridge, a light purple Toad comes a-running after us and tells us that the two Bowsers invaded Peach's Castle!

The story then goes to the Castle, where it plays out. "I guess it's that point in the story..." Peach says. "Ugh, not again" replies Paper Peach. The two Bowsers come along in their clown copters and are tricked by two fake cardboard Peaches. They then corner the real ones and it fades out. Pretty humorous scene! The banter between the Bowsers is great!

Back to us, we see the two Bowsers fly by with the two Peaches. They then fly away and send the first boss, Petey Piranha Lv 4, after us.

The boss music has a fast emergent beat. There's some cathedral organ music playing too to show how dramatic and serious it all is.

We can knock him on his back and jump on his belly to make him spew water and coins. He then gets angry and chases after us. We can use Paper Mario's paper aeroplane glide to avoid his paintball attacks here. After a while he falls on his tummy and Paper Mario can land on his head. We earn a Stache Bean here.

We beat him and earn the Sandwich Boots. That's not all though. There are ? Cards left here too. The light purple Toad runs up to us and explains they use Amiibo. I'm not really interested but I let him guide us anyway. When I press the Amiibo button I come across the first time there's ever a loading pause! It's surreal!

Anyway I have a look around. Of course, I'd need an NFC reader/writer since I don't own a New Nintendo 3DS. The compatible Amiibo are Toad, Bowser, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi. You can make different types of cards. There's Duo Cards, where you can combine two Amiibo of different characters to make them and then there are Sparkle Cards, where you combine two Amiibo of the SAME character to make them. So you're rewarded for owning two of the exact same Amiibo?! I guess if you have Smash Mario and Mario Party Mario Amiibos... though man, I dunno...

It's kind of overwhelming for me. I don't want to collect figurines, so I'm glad this is a non-required aspect of the game.

Finishing up, the Toad says I can exchange the cards for coins instead. I just might do that! Mario says "Oh Yeah!" with a jump and that's my reaction too!

6 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - New Title screen, having fun with dashing

Dear Readers,

The title screen has changed! Before it was just Mario and Luigi onscreen. Now, Bowser and everyone from the Paper World are here and there's a cute little looping animation of them all running around the place. Hang out and have a watch! The title screen music is lovely. It's a bit like the battle theme and has a lively tambourine beat. On the bottom screen, the Paper Toads are facing the Paper baddies on the right.

We've levelled up a few times during these recent battles but we don't have the stat boosting choice yet.

We explore Sunbeam Plains a little bit more. The mini game where the block moves back and forth from before can now be done with Paper Mario as well. It seems to keep a different high score too but I'm not sure.

Dashing is great. We can dash forever as long as we hold the Circle Pad in a direction. It doesn't stop when we hit a wall or move to the next screen either. Great fun :)

Anyway, I forget how to do the slide, so I check the tutorials and practise with Starlow. She says "Aww, thanks for the hug! ♥" when we catch her.

It seems you can only slide when the ! symbol appears. Didn't know that. Anyway, dashing into enemies only does damage to one in a group with all three characters. Jumping on them gives them all a bit of damage with one character.

Another thing I love about jumping on baddies in battle and getting excellent hits is the way Mario & Luigi do these acrobatic somersaults when they finish! Paper Mario does too! They all look really classy when they get an excellent hit and it feels really good.

We venture back along Sunbeam Plains, get coins from the Spinny Flowers and come across an orange trampoline thingy. After dashing into it, it springs us onto a little island with Cosy Wear. I equip it on Luigi, seeing how his speed is lower than the others. I want to use his fire flower move to get more expert challenge points too.

There's the odd crevice or two that are easy to miss! Make sure to check everything so that you may find everything!

We head back to Peach's Castle. Nothing has changed here with the Paper Toads and the green counter at the shop is still closed. We can redeem expert challenge points but there may be better items to use them on later. Might as well save them up.

Let's head forward through Sunbeam Plains again.

5 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Hooray for Dash Socks! Rescuing the 8 Paper Toads of Sunbeam Plains

Dear Readers,

Today, I'll talk about rescuing the 8 Paper Toads in this area and about the amazing Dash Socks!

Up the steps we meet a real Goomba that's holding a Paper Toad captive on its head so we give chase.

At the bottom of the steps there's a crevice in the wall that Paper Mario can slip through. On the other side are some So-So boots. Before I get a chance to equip them I run into some Paper Paratroopas!

I'm a bit clumsy with these guys so I haven't figured out how to avoid their pattern yet. The tutorial talks about an emergency guard option when you can't dodge by pressing X. Looks like it could come in handy.

Afterwards, I give the So-So Boots to Luigi.

Further back, we see the Goomba kidnapper along with another one who kidnapped another Paper Toad. The game makes an event out of rescuing them by saying "Ready... Go!". There's 8 of them to be rescued here but there's no timer. Enemies are Goombas mixed with Paper Paratroopas.

Sometimes the Paper Paratroopas attack high, or low or from the side. Just know when to jump dodge!

Back at the crevice the green Paper Toad slipped through, Paper Mario can go through and rescue him.

Back further, we meet some Biddybuds. They stack on top of one another.

We meet a light purple Paper Toad bouncing on the music blocks here and rescue him. Doesn't seem to be in any danger though!

We rescue another Paper Toad from a Goomba. He tells us he was getting a bit queasy until we rescued him.

Next is a blue Paper Toad who runs away upon seeing us. We can't catch him so we move on. Then we find three more Paper Toads masquerading as a fence!

We tell them about the Toad we couldn't catch and they give us the Dash Socks. This just may be the greatest item in the game! We can press X to make all three of us jump at once(thank you so much!) and upon landing, we can dash to move around at a quicker speed and make the Spinny Flowers bloom and release coins. I'm going to love this! A reprise of the Super Mario Bros 1-1 theme plays during this, adding to the joy :)

The second of this trio teaches us about the slide to catch things. Thanks dude! The third makes us practise this technique by chasing him. When we catch him, the event music starts playing. Time to catch that blue Paper Toad!

I've been playing for a while, so on the pause screen, the game suggests taking a break. It promises it'll still be around when I get back. How cute. It's a good call though. I'll take a break when this event is done.

After a bit of sliding, we finally catch the blue Paper Toad! He says he's relieved we aren't Bowser's minions.

A big "Cleared!" message appears, signifying the end of the Paper Toad catching event.

The recording Lakitu appears and greets us. He has a strange voice. I don't think I've heard him say anything before in a Mario game. He sounds a bit like Mr. Hankey from South Park. Anyway, he tells us he's delivered the Paper Toads back to the castle safely for us.

4 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Meeting Paper Mario!

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about meeting Paper Mario and getting used to him in our team.

Sunbeam Plains is full of those X holes, but we don't have the ability to excavate them yet. In previous games, you'd get stat boosting beans from them.

We meet a green Paper Toad, but he gets spooked by a real Goomba and runs through a small crevice between two rocks to escape. Poor Luigi tries it out for size and gets his nose stuck! He pulls it out though, and we continue exploring and beating up more Goombas.

The real Goombas attack faster than the Paper Goombas so that's something to look out for.

There are also these poles around the place. Must have something to do with Paper Mario when we meet him.

Soon, we run into a group of Paper Goombas arranged like a V shape. One of them seeks revenge and they all gang up on us, turning into a big paper wheel! They knock Mario & Luigi out... Oh no!

Just then, Paper Mario floats in! He's able to deal with them while the real Mario Bros. are unconscious. Starlow gives him the Copy Block the Paper Toads gave us. His actions use the Y button and he can do a high flutter jump. The 6 copies add extra damage and alleviate taken damage, which comes in handy. Copying will cost a turn.

The music changes to the standard battle theme for this game too. Will we ever hear the other theme again? Not sure. Maybe if they separate? Anyway, I like the main battle theme. I'll see how I feel about it as the game goes on.

The Paper Goomba wheel gets smaller and eventually we beat them! Afterwards, Luigi gives Paper Mario a big crumply hug during introductions. Paper Mario and real Mario greet one another with twirls and somersaults! We all team up for the adventure!

Starlow tells us to jump over a few steps to get used to things and man it feels a bit weird. If I want them to jump all together I have to press Y, B and A, holding my thumb horizontally across them. Otherwise I'd hit X. Let's see how it goes. There are a few blocks here too that Paper Mario can hit. These are marked with a yellow P.

3 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - More on battling, A and B for Mario & Luigi

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk more about battling.

I've always loved the battle gameplay in this series, Mario using A for his actions and Luigi using B for his. It makes a triumphant return here and the Superstar Saga theme is a lovely throwback too. I realise it'll all change when I meet Paper Mario. The new theme is nice enough too. I heard it from preview videos.

For now I'm just running around battling Goombas and Paper Goombas and beating the earlier expert challenges.

We're usually introduced to an M&L game by pressing A for Mario to jump but here we're introduced to Luigi's B jump instead. That's a nice touch!

Then there's the first couple of Bros. Attacks. The 3D Red Shell is as awesome as it always was. Taking turns kicking the shell and bouncing it off the bad guy was always a defining element in this series and I'm really happy to see it again. The Fire Flower works just like it does in the last game.

The hammers you have immediately from the beginning instead of being gently introduced as you go on. They work just like they do in the last game as well. I was able to crumple the Paper Goombas as well. I wonder if Paper Mario can get crumpled?

2 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Battling in Sunbeam Plains, Bowser meets Bowser

Dear Readers,

Today I'll talk about the first few battles in Sunbeam Plains and the introduction of Paper Bowser.

Up ahead are two Paper Goombas. Mario, Luigi and Starlow poke at them with fascination. They get angry and attack!

For the first few battles, we get an amazing rendition of the battle theme from the first Mario & Luigi game, Superstar Saga. I really really love this! Starlow comes out and points us to an optional picture tutorial accessible from the touch screen.

The story goes to Bowser's Castle where Bowser meets Paper Bowser. "Who the heck is this guy?" they both ask at the same time. Bowser is the coolest in this series! Bowser's Inside Story was fantastic and it looks like he has the same attitude here, calling his Paper self a flimsy knockoff. They start fighting until a Goomba interrupts. We then see Bowser Jr. meeting with Paper Bowser Jr!

Back to Mario, Luigi and Starlow, who has a weird shivery feeling.

Up ahead are two real world Goombas. They mutter something about a flat Mario and attack. Starlow talks about circular targets that appear when I'm about to be attacked. She also talks about expert challenges, little achievement things that were in the last game too.

There's quite a few of these challenges. Looks like I'll have my hands full trying to get them all. The game also seems to keep a record of ? blocks you hit and Paper Toads you rescue.

Up ahead is a Paper Toad who freaks out upon seeing me, so I'll have to catch him. In this area I freely seek and defeat the Goombas and Paper Goombas, getting more acquainted with the action parts of the game. There's a little mini-game here where Mario & Luigi take turns hitting a block between themselves. It keeps score and goes faster the more times you hit it.

1 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros - Paper explosion!

Dear Readers,

New Mario & Luigi game! This is my favourite RPG series and this is the 5th one! As a fan I'm well served!

At a glance, it looks like loading times are minuscule and you can press R to fast forward through cut scenes and advance text. How considerate!

Headphones are a must too. This is Yoko Shimomura's work we're talking about here! From the left speaker, when can hear Luigi whimper as he's a bit too scared to go into the dark dusty room with one of the Toads. Seriously, try headphones!

While dealing with a mouse, Luigi unwittingly knocks open a book that unleashes characters from the Paper Mushroom Kingdom into the Mario & Luigi world. The music outside is very pleasant. Soon, we're in the throne room for the next scene where we meet Paper Princess Peach. A very mellow classical rendition of Peach's Castle from Super Mario 64 plays here.

Mario, Princess Peach, the Toads and Starlow are here. Luigi explains the story to them with Charles Martinet's humorous Italian gibberish that I've come to love from the series :)

The stained glass image of Peach is very pretty here. The blue Toad here loves it.

Mario & Luigi go all blushy and shy when they're introduced to Paper Peach.

You get a guide from one of the Toads and can read up on tutorials and story recaps anytime you want.

The first thing to do is to gather all the Paper Toads. They got scared when they appeared in this world so it's time to round them up. First ones are in the castle lobby. The music that plays here sounds like you're going to do a serious mission and is quite fitting. I've seen a mission like this from the E3 presentation last Summer and that one had a timer. This one doesn't, being an introductory one I suppose.

The Paper Toads I rescue tell me about the other Paper Toads who weren't so lucky. They got captured by Goombas from this world. Serious sinister music plays here. Next thing to do is head out and rescue them and find Paper Mario too. I wonder if Paper Luigi makes an appearance? From what I've seen so far it doesn't really look like it.

I head to another part of the castle where the Toads are dealing with Nabbit, who's stolen some Bros. Attacks. Sad music plays here while the Toads mourn their loss. It's a good thing he didn't take them all, we still get the 3D Red Shell and the Fire Flower. They seem to work similar to the last game, Dream Team Bros. and you don't have to practise them either. Just select it from the pause menu.

A nice touch here is they way they spell "Practise" using an s. This is a true European localisation alright! :)

There's a shop in the castle too but I don't buy anything yet. One of the counters isn't open yet either.

You can save anytime by tapping the icon on the touch screen. Very convenient! It doesn't take long to save either, so that's nice.

On the way out, I meet Toadette. She's made a little papercraft Mario and promises to make me a life sized one. How nice of her! :) She says she's getting pretty good at adventuring. It's true! This time last year we went on lots of nice adventures with her and Captain Toad.

Just then, the Paper Toads I rescued catch up with me and give me the Copy Block. They made it in their little chamber in the castle. Toadette gets all inspired and goes back with them to see what they can create together.

Outside the castle, I meet Lakitu. A good Lakitu. Princess Peach has asked him to keep a record of things. Looks like he's keeping his own game diary!

18 Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash 4-5 The Bomball Ruins, lost all battery life!

Dear Readers,

Happy New Year!

Today, I'll talk about visiting this level for the first time and what it's like to lose all of Chibi-Robo's battery life.

It's daytime in the forest again! This time though, it's all about exploring ruins with sensitive bomb puzzles. I messed up on one too many bombs though and had to start from the beginning of the stage again. I didn't have to re-collect snacks, but I had to re-collect Chibi-Tots and coins.

The scenery is kind of interesting with some graves here and there in the ruins. Maybe whoever's buried here got into an accident with the bombs?

The snacks I find in this stage are the High Eight Chocolate, which looks nicely put together and the Kameda No Kakinotane, which looks like a nutty snack. I'll learn more about them later.

After the game over, I managed to collect all the items again  and finish the level by hitting the silver saucer.