The 'Shroom:Issue 150/Strategy Wing
Director Notes
Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)
Would you look at that? We've hit 150 issue of The 'Shroom. That's not too bad for a community project, now is it? But, of course, this milestone moment for The 'Shroom is also a milestone issue for our humble team here at Strategy Wing. With Stooben Rooben at the helm when it was first organized as an independent team in issue 100, Strategy Wing has since seen its way through fifty editions, many of them under the directorship of my immediate predecessor, Meta Knight. In that time, Strategy Wing hasn't always been the largest of teams, but the sections here have consistently possessed a high level of quality and detail which reflects the analytical nature of this team. It's an honor to be at the helm here myself, and to have such a dedicated and passionate team of writers who make this team a pleasure to direct and read each month. I would like to take a moment to thank all of you out there who have made fifty issues of Strategy Wing possible. So, to Stooben, Paper Yoshi, Shoey, Dippy, DragonFreak, Tucayo, Pi, Super Mario Bros., MCD, GPM1000, YoshiFlutterJump, GBAToad, Roy, Roserade, Koops, Archagent, PK144, Meta Knight, Yoshi876, and Superchao, I humbly offer my thanks to you on behalf our our team here, thanks for all of your work and your contributions, however few or many. You all have made this milestone possible, and, with writers like you behind it, I have no doubts that Strategy Wing has a prosperous path ahead of it for its next fifty issues.
But that's enough reflection for now! There's much to be said for the past, but there's even more to be said for the here and now, especially considering just how much we have for you this month. First off, we have those sections from Superchao and Yoshi876 which you've come to expect each month here, with all of their usual quality. In addition, we debut two new monthly sections this month! First, ArchagentEverlasting will thoroughly educate you on the creatures and techniques of the Kirby series with her section, Anatomy of a Kirby. Then, Koops will guide you through the world of Fire Emblem with his new chronicle of his Fire Emblem experience in Koops, Your Emblem is on Fire. We also have the grand finale to Meta Knight's Dream Land Jorunal and a special milestone reappearance of YoshiFlutterJump's Tips and Tricks. And, when you're done with all of that, you can check out our Super Mario Maker 2 contest and go and play a few levels created just for The 'Shroom.
With so much here for you, it just wouldn't do for me to keep you any longer with these Director's Notes. Before you get too caught up in all of the celebration, though, don't forget to check in on Mach Speed Mayhem's forum thread to cast your vote for issue 151! Now, go on and read what our writers have prepared for you this month!
Section of the Month
With five votes, Yoshi876 takes first in last month's section of the month poll with his look at Cheep Cheep Lagoon's staff kart combination. Thank you all for voting last month. With as many sections as we have this month, let's make sure we push those vote numbers up higher this month to thank all of our writers!
| STRATEGY WING SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | Racing Like the Staff | 5 | 55.56 | Yoshi876 |
| 2nd | Pokédex Power | 3 | 33.33 | Yoshi876 |
| 3rd | Mach Speed Mayhem | 1 | 11.11 | Superchao |
Let's meet Lyn and start our tactical adventure with Koops!
[read more]
Meta Knight's quest for the Copy Essence Deluxes finishes.
[read more]
Can Toad's Turnpike's staff kart boost to victory like a racer with a mushroom?
[read more]
Get a taste for Chocolate Island 2 from Super Mario World!
[read more]
I don't know if the engine purrs, but you can find out about Jody Summer and her White Cat here!
[read more]
Relax and take a deep, deep breath as you learn about Kirby's Inhale ability.
[read more]
Koops, Your Emblem is on Fire
Heeeeeeey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hello! Welcome! Everyone! So? What's up? Zit alright? Hope it is.
So... yeah... I'm... actually doing this! I'm gonna make some sort of walkthrough of this game! And oh my god that opening... MOUAH! Saint Elimine preserve me that is a gorgeous opening, and the intro to the Fire Emblem main theme! Oh, and yeah... this is the second best version of the theme for me.
So yeah... this game, Fire Emblem 7, also known as Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword, or simply Fire Emblem because it's the first non-Japan exclusive... this game is pretty amazing... let's just get into it guys... I wanna show you people what wonders the series houses! Well... each game has its own magic... but yeah... this one is pretty amazing. Let's-a just go, dammit!
There... let us start a new game!
Right off the bat... you are given the option to choose to start with any of the three lords. Lyn's story is the first one chronologically, so we'll start with that, but there's also another reason you wanna do it that will be apparent later in the game. A VERY good reason let's just say. Given how my luck is weird with these games, it may not make a difference, but... you'll see what I mean. We'll be doing Lyn HARD mode because... well... you'll also see.
As we start, we are prompted with this screen here. We have the option to make... an avatar character! Thought Robin was the first one? Well he was the first avatar UNIT (outside of Japan), not character! As you can see, I already set my username here. The default birth month and gender is accurate to describe me. Also note that the default name for the avatar is Mark. After having set everything up, it's time to press Start to get to the actual game.
Here it is... the Prologue chapter. Let's get to it!
Yeah. This is Lyn's debut in the series. Hi Lyn!
Well sure... I just wrote it in.
What story? I just started it... I just started the game, there's not been any story yet.
Oh no. If you are familiar with Fire Emblem, you'd know that every first chapter (excluding very few cases) focuses around...
Yes! Bandits! Thanks, Lyn! No they're not Swiss bandits, Bern is just the name of a country here. Many countries in Fire Emblem are named after real life places. There's also Crimea, Grado, and others. Anyway, Bandits!
No, but I have strats!
Well... some dialogue later... here is our first map! I'll be going over those by showing noteworthy enemies and features of each map. This one though, as you can see, is pretty basic... too basic in fact. It was made to be a tutorial!
And that brings us to why I chose Lyn hard mode. Lyn Normal Mode has a forced tutorial, which is nice the first time around, as this is the first FE to be released overseas and they kinda had to introduce people to the series. But after a first playthrough, there's really no need for it. Choosing Hard mode cancels the tutorial, and lets you play at your own pace. So... let's take a look at the map itself!
Here's our very first character, and it's Lyn, A young girl from the Lorca tribe, Stouthearted and kind. She's a level 1 Lord, Lord being the class of most FE protagonists. She starts out with 16 HP, and all those stats you see, which I will explain.
- Str= Strength. This stat adds up to the attack power of the weapon you're using, so the damage you deal depends heavily on this stat. - Skill. This stat affects your ability to hit enemies. If your skill is high enough, you might even start having some crit chances! - Spd= Speed. This stat shows how fast the unit is. When your speed is 4 above an enemy's, you can double attack the enemy within a single fight. Your speed also affects your ability to dodge incoming attacks. Your speed can potentially be affected if you use heavy weapons. - Luck. This stat adds some evasion on top of your speed and affects your ability to negate critical hits. A luck stat as high as the opponent's crit chance fully negates the chance of it happening. - Def= Defense. This stat reduces the damage you take from physical weapons. - Res= Resistance. This stat reduces the damage you take from magic weapons. - Move. This stat shows how many tiles your movement range covers. - Con= Constitution. This stat determines what weapons you can use without being weighed down. - Aid. This stat shows how heavy another unit has to be in order to be rescued by this one.
And this is Lyn's starting inventory! She has an Iron Sword, a basic weapon with 5 attack power. It has 5 weight, so any character with at least 5 Con can use it without any speed penalty. I'll talk about this when it becomes relevant. She also starts with two vulneraries. These items have 3 uses and heal your unit by 10 HP, but using them takes up a turn.
This bandit is our only normal enemy here. He's pretty pathetic, but Lyn's defense is also pretty pathetic, so he's still somewhat of a thread to her this early in the game.
Let's move Lyn closer to him!
Here's the option menu, which doesn't look like much now, but you can see two options here: Item, and Wait. "Item" lets you equip weapons you have in your inventory or use any items you have there for utility. "Wait" ends this unit's turn.
So this bandit dared point his axe towards Lyn. He has to pay!
Now that she's next to an enemy and she has a weapon on her, Lyn has the option to attack the bandit!
Choose the weapon you wanna attack with...
And this is the battle forecast screen! As you can see, the HP of each unit is displayed on top. See that "Mt" section? This shows how much each of you will do to each other. That bandit can do 10 damage to Lyn, but Lyn only does 7. However, it's 7 x 2. Lyn's speed is enough to double this guy. You see the "Hit" portion under that now? That is the chance each one has to deal the damage. Lyn's attacks are both guaranteed to hit, but the Bandit is at a severe disadvantage here, only having a 39% chance, which is not reliable seeing how this game calculates these hit chances. And finally, "Crit" is the chance a critical hit will occur. A critical hit deals three times the normal damage output, but do keep in mind that crit chances are calculated UNDER the hit. So let's say you have a hit% of 40, but a 100% crit chance. That 40 would first have to hit in order for this crit to be guaranteed.
Anyway, let's kill this bastard!
On the second round of combat, this bandit, who is down to 6 HP after losing 14 in the first round, just sealed his fate by attacking us. Yeah, you wanna avoid attacking on your own phase if you don't kill the enemy before he manages to kill you. This guy is clueless.
And he dies! This animation is what Lyn's assist trophy is based off of, by the way.
And we get some Exp! Like in any RPG! Now let's go fight the other enemy, who is...
The first boss! Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome Batta! His stats are only slightly better than the guy we just fought, so he's really no big deal, but he has a better hit chance, so he is more susceptible to hit Lyn. Only slightly though.
Yeah. Lyn does slightly less damage to him, while he has more HP and a better hit chance than the other one, like I said. But, also like I said, it is beneficial at times to wait for the enemy to attack first. Also notice how Lyn has only a 93% chance to hit this time. I mean, that is still pretty much guaranteed with how these percents work, but you know... there's only this one tiny sliver of chance that she doesn't hit, and if the boss hits, we still have vulneraries with us! So really, this guy is no threat at all.
Every boss has a little dialogue before they start fighting. Sets them apart from generic enemies. Also this guy is a bit of a meme in the community. Idk why, but... I admit something about him screams "meme". I just don't know what.
The first round ends like this. Lyn hit both her attacks, and Batta missed his. Lyn hasn't lost any HP yet, I normally don't get this lucky!
However, since Lyn deals 10 damage per fight, she still won't be able to kill him next round, so we will still have to wait for him to attack.
Oh yeah. Some bosses are on special tiles of the map labeled "Gate". The objective of most maps in this game is to seize these tiles by stepping on them, but they have some special bonuses. They boost your evasion by 30 and your defense by 2, and they heal you for every turn you stay on them. When bosses use them, which they always do, it can get annoying to try to hit them. But this is pretty early in the game, they're not gonna throw any demon gods in our faces!
He missed again! Lyn usually gets hit on at least on of his attacks, I swear! This is so lucky for my standards... I hear of the let's play curse, but in my case, it's in reverse!
Well, he has only 3 HP left. Let's erase that dude.
Rip in Bandittoni, Batta the beast!
Oh... I think we now have reached another Exp bar... looks like...
Our first level-up! Not surprising, since you're guaranteed a level-up here regardless. Bosses give a ton of Exp compared to regular enemies. Let's see how it goes.
Lyn has now gained 1 HP, 1 Strength, 1 Skill, 1 Speed, and 1 Luck. Typical level-up, although that point of strength is appreciated!
The way level-ups work in this game is stats you gain per level-up are randomized, and it differs between characters. Lyn is designed as a very fast unit who relies on dodging and doubling things. That means she is most likely to gain Skill, Speed and Luck. That strength increase though, is, as I said, appreciated on a first level-up. Defense and Resistance are two weak stats of hers, so she's not meant to get attacked often herself. Although if you get lucky with certain level-ups, your character may easily be able to do things they're not meant to do. And that can be hilarious, but on the other hand, you may get unlucky with stats you're supposed to get, which is known as "RNG Screwage". Thankfully, the game gives you many characters of the same kind to replace anyone you might have been planning to use who got RNG-screwed. So you shouldn't worry too much when that happens. Lyn is one of a kind though, so it'd suck if she turned out awful in this playthrough.
Trivia Time! As I said before, this chapter, if played on normal mode, is a tutorial. A scripted tutorial, in fact! It prompts you to attack the first brigand yourself, but get hit in the process, and as a result, introduce you to using vulneraries. The tutorial also forces you to attack the boss instead of waiting for him to attack you. The boss always hits once, but Lyn actually activates a scripted 1% critical hit on him to finish him. It's pretty nice, but you don't get that on hard mode, which is not that big a loss anyway, though.
Anyway, now that Lyn is on the gate, we can seize, and end the prologue!
Home? So I live here now... with you?
Not really. You didn't get hit once! You did an amazing job out there, girl! Proud of ya.
Anything.
I've played this game more than once, yes.
K.
No... Did I... say that?
Ouch.
This is cliche as hell, but Lyn is freaking 18 here, guys. This is too much for anyone this young to handle.
Those same bandits we murdered? They're an actual threat? Wow. We two must be pretty strong, huh?
Just when you thought Lyn was the first Lord in FE to not have any royal ties or anything, this comes up. And something bigger later will force a nail into that coffin as well.
That's it. That's the way to think of it!
Woah, easy there! You do know that may lead to...
Ok, that's the spirit.
Yes. Come. I will show you the ways of Fire Emblem! I will show you that anyone can be a good unit! I will show you how strong you are!
Yes, we can.
Don't mind these two other files. They're old files I have. Both completed. And with that, we're done with the prologue! I know it may take forever if I do only one chapter per issue here, but this was pretty long, with me explaining mechanics and whatnot, and I will still need to explain mechanics later too! So yeah... we'll be with Lyn for a while.
This has been Koops, signing off
Meta Knight's Dream Land Journal
Written by: Meta Knight (talk)
Milky Way Wishes
After much waiting, the storm that was tormenting the seas had come to pass, and I was able to continue my search for the Copy Essence Deluxe abilities for Kirby. We took out three of the planets, so finishing the others was my most urgent goal. I stood on the bridge and looked at the map.
Skyhigh
I entered the planet Skyhigh, a planet filled with clouds and fierce winds. Fortunately I am not afraid of heights, and I can easily fly through the area. I left my ship landed on the surface. I was up atop the clouds. I entered the door that was nearby and continued along the clouds. I made sure to defend myself against potential enemies, but a gust of wind was trying to push me. I saw a star block. I destroyed it, and used my speed to outmatch the wind, and I made it to a door. Inside was some Capsule J-Model units, along with the Jet Copy Essence Deluxe! This ability will enable Kirby to blast through the air.
I went back through the door and headed back down onto the cloud. The wind continued to roar, but I followed along its trajectory. Shortly after, I came across a fuse. A flame would ignite it with no trouble, but I will use Galaxia to light it. Once Kirby grabs the Jet, he should be able to set the fuse as well. The fuse leads under a hill with some Chilly enemies, so I made sure to keep a higher distance. With some quick footing, I made it to the cannon and launched to the destination. There I saw the Wheel Copy Essence Deluxe. Kirby will soon learn the true meaning of speed.
I left the room and fell back down near the cannon. I continued forward and after getting past several Bronto Burts, I went into another door. I was in a room with three doors, a Parasol Waddle Dee, and a Parasol Waddle Doo. I sense that there are several twisting paths that the doors lead through multiple interconnected areas. Surely there is some sort of secret here. I analyzed the pathways and figured out how to get to my target. Entering the doors in the order of right, center, left, will lead to a room with some Scarfies. I went through the center door and there was a Wing Copy Essence Deluxe! Kirby can fly gracefully when he obtains these wings.
I went back to the room with the Scarfies, and pursued my next objective. By following the door to the right, then right, again, there was a room with some Bomber enemies, that grant Kirby the Crash ability. I entered the center door, to come face to face with Kracko! My blade posed a greater threat than Kracko did to me, so I sent him sky high.
Hotbeat
I flew my ship toward the flaming planetoid in my sight, Hotbeat. The atmosphere had too high of a temperature for me to get near, so I anchored the Halberd in space and flew down to the surface. The entire planet has lava flowing beneath the ceiling, and floods through the floors. My wings make it easier to traverse though. There was an upwards curvature not too long into my path. When I circled around, there was a bomb block just past a cannon. Upon destroying it, lava poured from above me. I was intrigued as to where the source was, so I braced myself and quickly headed through the lava. I will leave behind an Invincible Candy nearby so that Kirby can get through without taking damage. I found a door, and when I entered I was in a tall room with several Burning Leos. I went up and discovered the Fire Copy Essence Deluxe! Kirby will be able to scorch his enemies with this.
I continued along and ended up in a large volcanic cavern. It was a surprisingly open area, with mine carts. I entered the one right beside me and kept my eye on the tracks as it moved along. It destroyed several post along the way, causing lava to flood. Shortly after, a lava wall was forming. I quickly abandoned the mine cart, and flew over. There was a brief open area with more narrow lava tunnels. I traveled below the tunnel, and saw breakable blocks above me. My wings are capable of destroying them, and Kirby should be able to use Wing as well to destroy them. I reached a door past the blocks. I was in a quiet room when Bugzzy ambushed me! I dispatched of him quickly, and the Suplex Copy Essence Deluxe appeared before my eyes! Kirby can wrangle his foes with little trouble with this power.
I went back to the mine carts and used them to move along my path. There was another post that caused a large lava wall to form. I flew over it and entered the door. There were some more Scarfies and twisting tunnels. Using my wings made the terrain significantly easier to navigate. I came across some cannons, which led to another door. It was there that I had a duel with Chameleo Arm! There was trickery to be had from the scaly creature, but my wit pulled through.
Cavius
My next destination was the planet Cavius. Older historical records refer to it as Cavios. The planet is a labyrinth, that branches out below the planet surface. I landed on ground level and headed underground through the door. Immediately I was ambushed by a Bio Spark. I climbed down and up the ladders and disabled Chef Kawasaki, who posed as an obstacle in my way. There were two pathways in front of me, one with a ladder that headed down, and another to the right. I decided to stay above and move to the right. Shortly after, there was yet another ladder that led to deeper below, but I ignored the ladder. I continued right and was confronted by Poppy Bros. Sr.. Defeating him revealed the Bomb Copy Essence Deluxe! Kirby can leave behind an explosive path with this ability.
After marking the location of the Bomb Copy Essence Deluxe, I continued to the right. The cavern had some platforms still holding the structure together, but I dropped through them. It led down and slightly to the left, with a Sir Kibble along the way. I went below the other platforms, and there was another branching path. One was a gap that went deeper underground, and the other was straight across forward. I decided to head down into the lower levels, and soon had an encounter with Bonkers! His hammer contains great power, so I made sure to get rid of him promptly. This time, the Hammer Copy Essence Deluxe showed up. When Kirby wields the Hammer, he can be virtually unstoppable.
I needed to continue through the maze, so I continued to the right and went past a post until I reached a ladder. I climbed down and got to the lowest level. I followed the tunnel back to the left and defeated Bugzzy, revealing a door to the next area. I was in a somewhat open area with some Squishy, a squid-like enemy. There was a yellow gate that was closing off a section of the cave, with some stone behind it. I flew up and destroyed a Bomb Block, which released a flood of water below. There was also a switch up here. I pressed the switch and swam back down to go through the gate. There was a door this time however, and inside was the Stone Copy Essence Deluxe! Kirby will be invincible for certain periods and will be able to withstand most enemy attacks.
I went back to the open area and went up and to the right. There were several ladders that looped back downwards. There were a fair amount of enemies, so I will leave behind an Invincible Candy where the Stone Copy Essence Deluxe was so that Kirby can get through them easier. I went through the door to the right, and what awaited me was none other than Wham Bam Rock. He used stone attacks to try and defeat me, but I bested him in battle.
Mekkai
I flew my ship over to the planet Mekkai, an abandoned laboratory where various sorts of experiments took place. The interior design is filled with machinery. Some documents refer to the base as Mecheye, but it reminds me of some of the structure within the Halberd. When I landed I was in the outside area of the lab. I entered the door and continued in the air along the way. Heading to a lower level is not feasible as the toxic chemicals released from the base will result in an instant perish for anyone who dare gets too low of an altitude. After making it past some cannons, I destroyed a Bomb Block and went inside.
There were two branching paths, one that lead below and one to the right. I stayed up and continued right. There were some slight winds within the structure, but eventually I saw a door above. There were strong air currents that kept trying to prevent me from moving forward, but I kept my determination and went through the door. There was an elevator that went down into another room. I entered and noticed the Yo-Yo Copy Essence Deluxe! Kirby may feel somewhat nostalgic with this item, but he possesses a certain artistry when using it.
I went back up the elevator and went to the area with the strong current. I used my speed to maneuver through the wind and came across several switches, each one controlling a gate. The Yo-Yo will certainly be useful for navigating, but my agile nature allowed me to get through with no trouble. When I went through the door, there was a tall chamber with an elevator. There are several smaller alcoves here, many of them containing an enemy that is stronger than the common foe. I took the elevator to the top, and moved left. There was an Iron Mam to battle, but upon her defeat was the Plasma Copy Essence Deluxe! Kirby will make the sparks fly when he summons electricity from this powerful ability.
I went back to the elevator and went down exactly one floor and went to the right. There I found Bonkers, who declared a duel, so I accepted and remained undefeated. It opened another door, which led to another fight with Heavy Lobster. Heavy Lobster is a mechanized weapon, but that comes at a cost of having no organic brain. As a result, he was not a threat.
Halfmoon
Only one planet remained, Halfmoon. It is also known as the Eternal Planet, a realm beyond sense. Stars litter the area, and the skies were dark, but I was not going to rest here. I went onto the planet's surface and entered the door. Right away there were winds that plagued the night sky. I flew along with the current. There is a Warp Star that will enable Kirby to navigate the unforgiving winds.
I made it to the end of the area and went through the door. The wind was seemingly gone, and there were several mine carts. I sat in the mine cart next to me and used it to break the posts along the way. The track was difficult to see as it was a starry mess. Eventually the mine cart hit a wall and was destroyed. I jumped up and saw another mine cart, but when I moved right, there was a Star Block below. I destroyed it and dropped below, but I had to be careful to not fall in the abyss. There was a door I entered to escape my demise and discovered the Mirror Copy Essence Deluxe! Kirby can have his foes reflect on their issues with this weapon.
I exited the room and went back above the Star Block. I jumped up through the twinkling platform, and went left to a mine cart. I used it to travel past more posts, and reached a door. There was another Warp Star, which should allow Kirby to get by quickly. At the end of the corridor was a challenge from both Chef Kawasaki and Iron Mam! Despite being a two against one battle, I was able to win the duel. I entered the door that appeared, only to figure out that the strong wind had returned, this time propelling me upward. Shortly after, I saw a couple Bomb Blocks next to a sleeping Noddy. I destroyed the Bomb Block and entered the door below and the Ninja Copy Essence Deluxe was there! Kirby can become one with the shadows with this ability.
I continued up through the raging winds, dodging the bullets from Shotzo, and avoiding the other enemies. When I reached the exit, there was another stronghold to defeat, the Computer_Virus. This program is one that demands its foes to play by its rules, focusing on turn-based combat. While time-consuming, the pattern is predictable, and I was able to get through.
Results
My research has resulted in the findings of all 19 Copy Essence Deluxe devices, along with finding the location of each guardian holding a wish. I will leave it to Kirby to summon the Galactic Nova and stop the sun and moon from fighting. His training has made him a great warrior. I will leave this journal in Planet Popstar for anyone to discover. I hope that they will be able to find use in the information it contains. If anyone should read this journal, I thank you for taking the time to do so. As for myself, I will watch from behind the scenes, and keep myself hidden for the foreseeable future. I do not know what the future will contain, but I will make sure to keep an eye on what happens from afar.
Racing Like the Staff
Hello readers and welcome to Racing like the Staff, a section where I do 150cc on different Mario Kart games, but the twist is, I take on the Grand Prix by using the combination that a staff and expert staff member used in that Cup. If you're still a little confused, by this I mean if the track is in the Mushroom Cup, then that's the Cup that I race in. Unfortunately, I don't have copies of the Mario Kart games before Mario Kart 7, so it's only that, 8 and Deluxe that will be getting this treatment.
As we go into Issue 150, I bring you what was once thought to be impossible, I have been able to return to Mario Kart 8 and so for the next few months, we'll be looking at courses from this game and Deluxe, provided nothing happens in that timeframe and I am once again relegated to just using 7 again. And as we're returning to this, I chose to look at one of the starter courses, that being from the Shell Cup. And I chose its final track, Toad's Turnpike. I have no real feelings toward the Turnpike, but I'm not the biggest fan of Toad, but hopefully the little mushroom man will get us the gold.
The combination for normal staff for Toad's Turnpike is Toad with the Standard Bike, Normal tyres and Parachute, and the stats are as follows:
- Speed – Just under three bars
- Acceleration – Just over three bars
- Weight – Just over two bars
- Handling – Just under five bars
- Grip – Just under four bars
Moo Moo Meadows
The race got off to a good start, as I was quickly into second by the time we got to the first Item Boxes, however I had some issues with outside drifting which allowed Luigi to overtake me as the cows passed. A Red Shell saw him fall behind me, and I soon managed to get ahead of Koopa Troopa. He seemed close by, but slowed down a lot from a Lightning Bolt, and I didn't need to fear anyone for the rest of the race. I suspect even if I'd been hit by something like a Red Shell or Monty Mole, I could've retained my lead.
Mario Circuit
I thought I had a good start, but I was surpassingly overtaken by Waluigi. He kept the lead for a good while, before I eventually over took him on the second s-bend following the anti-gravity section. Unfortunately, despite him staying close for a little bit, and nearly reclaiming the lead at the end of the first lap, I eventually sailed off into the distance, and was likely a Blue Shell ahead of everyone by the end.
Cheep Cheep Beach
Once again, Waluigi bested me at the start, and due to a poor bit of driving on my side, Luigi overtook me during the gliding section as well. I got around Luigi by going through the water, as opposed to staying on the sand, but Waluigi was a lot more difficult to get around. I eventually bested him with a Green Shell during the gliding section, and managed to hold him off, despite driving into a Sidestepper because of Blooper ink on the second lap.
Toad's Turnpike
For once, I kept Waluigi off my back at the start, but when I ploughed into a surfboard car after gliding off a truck, he was able to get ahead. A rebounded Green Shell didn't help me much either, allowing both Luigi and Koopa Troopa to get ahead. As I took to the anti-gravity, I got ahead of Luigi, but at the same time was overtaken by Shy Guy. I managed to pass Shy Guy back into third, and a Red Shell from Waluigi took out Koopa Troopa, but just as I passed Koopa Troopa, I was hit by a Red Shell, dropping me back into fourth. Luigi and I managed to navigate through the chaos of cars on the final lap to get past Waluigi and Koopa Troopa, and as we neared the end, I pulled ahead of Luigi and got the win. It should be noted, other than at the beginning and ending, I wasn't in the lead at all during the race.
Given how relatively slow the speed and acceleration, I wasn't expecting a lot from this combination, but it held its own, and certainly delivered. The starts could definitely have been improved, given how Waluigi typically got ahead of me, and I haven't been converted to outside drifting by this combination, and am relatively unlikely to use it outside of this section.
The Kart of Champions combination is Bowser with the Sport Bike, Slick tyres and Bowser Kite. The stats are as follows:
- Speed – Just over five bars
- Acceleration – Just under three bars
- Weight – Just over four bars
- Handling – Three bars
- Grip – One bar
Moo Moo Meadows
This race was a domination, I was quickly up into second before overtaking Mario just before the first set of cows. Despite running into a cow, and getting hit by a Lightning Bolt, followed by my own Green Shell, Mario never closed the gap enough to challenge me for the win.
Mario Circuit
Ludwig passed me at the start, as in my attempts to hold him off, I wisely drove onto the grass. However, a quickly passed him during the anti-gravity section, and never saw anyone until the end of the race. Like last time on Mario Circuit, I was a Blue Shell ahead of the field.
Cheep Cheep Beach
Much like previous races, there was no challenge with this race. Lemmy managed to shoot ahead at the start, but even without whacking him with a Green Shell I overtook him on the gliding section. And on the third I even proved I was a Blue Shell ahead, as one hit me, and the rest of pack weren't even close. Dare I say it, I could've survived a second one.
Toad's Turnpike
I wish I could write more than another domination, but other than Mario somehow inexplicably passing me on the first lap, this was all there was. A domination
If the Tiny Tug combination from the last was one of the worse I've ever tried out, then this one of the best. I can see why this is under the Kart of Champions for Mario Kart 8, this combination dominated everything, and I would easily recommend this combination to anyone who wants to get ahead in Mario Kart.
I hope you enjoyed this section, and I'll see you next month where I'll take a look at a combination hopefully from Mario Kart 8 again. If you've got a combination you'd like me to review next, feel free to private message me on the forums.
YoshiFlutterJump's Tips and Tricks
Written by: YoshiFlutterJump (talk)
Hello, hello! After a rather lengthy absence, I'm finally bringing this section back for our special issue 150! I'm still not sure about the exact schedule of my future sections, but I'll at least try to write them more often. Anyway, enough of that! Let's get started!
As you might know already, I opened a special thread for suggestions a couple weeks ago. It was a tough pick, but out of the suggestions in the thread, I decided that Chocolate Island 2 from Super Mario World would be the focus of today's section!
What's so special about this level, you ask? The level actually changes depending on how you play it. Depending on how many coins you collect in one area, or how long you spend in another, you'll actually encounter completely different level layouts. I'll cover them all here, including information on how to access each one and the locations of the Dragon Coins. To the right is a map of the level, showing all the different possible layouts.
Area 1
This area is always the same...after all, how could it change? It's the first one! This area features many semi-solid platforms with Dino Rhinos prowling on them. Punching the first message block will display a message informing you about the unique nature of this level. There's a tall pillar in the center of the area with a ? Block on it, and on either side of it is a Dragon Coin. Keep an eye on how many Dragon Coins you collect; it'll be important later. Jump down a few more semi-solids, stomp a few more Dino Rhinos, and prepare yourself for a true semblance of weirdness as you enter the Warp Pipe at the end of the area.
Area 2
Were you keeping track of how many coins you collected in the previous area? That will determine where you go after Area 1. Let's have a look at each possible area:
Area 2A
This is where you'll wind up if you found at least 21 coins in Area 1. The first thing you'll see is a Cape Feather. Grab it, run up the giant pillar, and put your flying skills to the test! There's a great chasm to fly over with a lot of coins to collect in your path. There's a single pillar around halfway through the area, with a Dragon Coin on it; however, it probably wouldn't be a very good idea to land on it as that would reset your flight momentum. Beyond there is another long chasm with coins hovering over it, and a Warp Pipe after it leading to Area 3.
Area 2B
Perhaps you didn't collect 21+ coins in Area 1. On the contrary, maybe you collected eight or fewer coins because you're speeding through this level without a second thought. If this is the case...welcome to Area 2B. This area is full of sloped semisolids with Red Paratroopas, so you might find it difficult to navigate. The key is to maintain your footing. And don't slide, whatever you do. There isn't that much more to it than that, and before long you'll find a Warp Pipe to Area 3.
Area 2C
Maybe you didn't carefully spend time collecting lots of coins during Area 1. Maybe you didn't break the speed limit either. Maybe you're just that middleman who collected between 9 and 20 coins, which wound you up here. This area heavily features Rexes, who run faster when you stomp them once and are only defeated after the second stomp. There are flat semisolids separating an otherwise empty chasm, as well. Eventually you'll reach a point where the gap between platforms is too wide, but thankfully, there's a handy Trampoline to help you out in such a predicament. After a few more platforms comes a short gap with two Piranha Plants and a Dragon Coin. A simple running jump should net you the Dragon Coin while steering far clear of the Piranha Plants. After this, prepare to face six Rexes in front of the Warp Pipe; after doing what you wish with them, enter the pipe to Area 3.
Area 3
They say haste makes waste...but does it really? The layout of Area 3 is determined by the amount of time you spent on the first few areas. Hopefully you didn't spend much, for reasons I'm about to explain.
Area 3A
You're enter this area if you have 250 or more seconds left on the timer. As the timer starts at 300, this means that you must have spent 50 or fewer seconds in the first two areas. Talk about a tight schedule. However, after a rather simplistic segment with Chargin' Chucks and a lot of different pipes, you'll find a secret exit that unlocks Chocolate Secret. Cool, huh?
Area 3B
Let's face it, chances are you weren't lucky enough to reach 3A. However, you may have gotten the second best outcome by finishing the previous two areas with between 235 and 249 seconds left. This isn't particularly likely, due to the smaller range of the time requirement here, and it's really simplistic as well. There's a few Dino Rhinos and a single no-way-you-missed-it Dragon Coin, but other than that there's pretty much nothing of note. Moving on!
Area 3C
If you took your time on the other areas and enter this one with less than 234 seconds left, you'll wind up in 3C. Oddly, this area is completely devoid of enemies, instead containing Mushrooms galore. It's not quite as simplistic as 3B though, as there are some watering holes you can swim in as well. One of them even has a Dragon Coin floating above it. Unless you end up drowning in a watering hole, you're not dying here, so you should be able to reach the pipe to area 4 without much issue.
Area 4
If you wound up in 3B or 3C before, there's one more area to traverse. This time, the area you visit is dependent on how many Dragon Coins you collected. I hope you've been grabbing all you can!
Area 4A
You'll end up here if you collected three or fewer Dragon Coins over the course of the level. The first thing you'll see is a large chasm. Leap off the nearby spring with some careful jumping, and you'll make it across. After this is a giant Rex tower walking through a tower of semisolids; use the semisolids to jump over the Rexes, and you'll reach the Giant Gate at the end of the level.
Area 4B
If you managed to collect a total of four Dragon Coins, you'll come here to wrap this course up. This area is significantly easier than 4A, too. You'll see a P Switch, and after it a very large chasm with a lot of coins over it. Activate the switch to turn all the coins into solid blocks, but don't waste any time, as it's not going to last forever. Alternatively, if you've activated all four Switch Palaces before playing this level, you'll be able to simply walk across using the colored ! Blocks; doing this will also allow you to collect one final Dragon Coin! At the end of either path, you'll find the Giant Gate, signifying the end of the level.
That's the end of this section, folks. Go check out Awards Analysis if you haven't already, and otherwise I will see you later! (With any luck, maybe even sooner!)
Mach Speed Mayhem
Hello, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to Issue 150 of the 'Shroom! Can you goddamn believe it? 150 issues. What a ride! Here's to making it to 200 and someone else having to deal with that one, suckers!! Anyhow, on the subject of Mach Speed Mayhem, for this month we're doing one of F-Zero's leading ladies, #02: Jody Summer! She's probably the most significant female character in F-Zero... due to a lack of rivals. Time to find out more!
Main Series
Like many, many others, Jody debuts in F-Zero X to help bring the roster up from 4 all the way to 30. Surprisingly, though, she's actually playable from the start of the game! X alone starts with six characters due to unlocking them in batches of six at a time, and Jody and Mighty Gazelle are playable from the start in this game, before being demoted back to locked characters for F-Zero GX and the GBA games. Her biography doesn't give that much on her, but it does mention that she's a rookie and people are expecting big things from her despite her lack of experience. We also get her hopeless suitor, John Tanaka, introduced in the same game. John entered F-Zero primarily to protect Jody! But you didn't vote for him, so we'll be covering him in a later section. As for Jody! When F-Zero GX expanded upon lore, it had quite a lot to say about her. First off, she's tied to the Galactic Space Federation, and considered a hero by her superiors and her peers alike. So they picked her as spokeswoman, which consisted of giving her a machine and having her race for them! Even though Falcon was the one to win the Grand Prix, she's still benefited quite a lot from the focus and exposure from the Grand Prix, and was selected as Miss Galactic Space Federation. Her big skill that gives her a lot of rivals is control. Gotta make sure the car goes where you want it to, after all!
The interviews for F-Zero GX are pretty illuminating - for example, Jody reveals that she's primarily in there to go after the criminals flaunting their criminal status. She's also quite the celebrity compared to others, as she's got television appearances and product endorsements lined up, along with plans to support the Federation. Also, John Tanaka is lucky - she remembers him! ...As a vital member of the team. Sorry, John, I don't think it's happening. Interestingly, she calls herself the heroine of the story at one point - she's not very humble... and oddly enough, according to Octoman, she has anti-octopus feelings. Jody, how could you!? The GX story mode gives her a pretty significant role at one point! In Chapter 5, Captain Falcon arrives at a power plant in the Lightning district, where he finds that Jody is inside the plant as it begins to fall to pieces. Falcon rides in, finds her in a dramatically unable to escape state, and promptly rides out through a whole series of closing gates. Why did they even install those in the escape tunnel? Anyhow, once Falcon escapes, he drops Jody off with John Tanaka, before riding off to go find Black Shadow. Jody makes her unsurprising reappearance in Chapter 7, joining the chaotic 30-car field in an effort to win the Big Race.
The White Cat is Jody Summer's personal machine, and she made sure you knew its name. Designed and built by the Galactic Space Federation, their primary focus was making sure the vehicle had grip powerful enough to survive any situation. It doesn't matter the gravity, the atmosphere, or the terrain, the White Cat will cling on and allow Jody to make her way to victory! In F-Zero X, it matches the listed stats of C body, C boost, and A grip quite well, and in practice it's one of the clingiest cars you can have. Good turning and boosting, too, even if it's not top tier. Over in F-Zero GX, meanwhile, the White Cat once again defies the listed stats... in both good and bad ways. The bad is that the grip is not quite as strong as you'd think, the car not prone to going out of control but still vulnerable to sliding and steering weirdly. The upside is that the top speed and booster are improved over X, and you can probably get further in the race... as long as it all holds together. In short, it's a good machine to start with, but I wouldn't recommend it for high level stuff, myself.
Interestingly, in the F-Zero X Expansion Kit, Jody is the third and last racer to get a Super version of her machine, alongside Captain Falcon and Samurai Goroh. All three of them not only get a new outfit, but two stats boosted to maximum and the third at near-max. Falcon had A/B/A and Goroh had B/A/A, so naturally Jody (in her new biker babe outfit) gets A body, A boost, and B grip. Unfortunately, if you weren't able to import the Nintendo 64DD and the Expansion Kit, you're missing out on these! Seriously, why does F-Zero X's definitive form have to be left on the other side of the shores...? Anyhow, like the Super Falcon and Super Stingray, the Super Cat would never return, left as a weird relic.
GP Legend series
Remember how for three months straight, we did characters who only showed up in one episode or a few episodes? Guess what, not this time! Jody Summer is one of the main characters of the F-Zero: GP Legend anime, as the leader of the Mobile Task Force. She reports to John Tanaka and the Chief, but in practice, she's in charge of the special force of F-Zero racers who race to keep Dark Million from claiming prize money and success. She meets Rick Wheeler in the very first episode, and after his initial "oh god I'm in the future" freakout, re-introduces herself as his new boss. The second and third episodes are what really get Jody's main character down and establish her general nature in the series as someone who's tough but fair and tries to get people to focus on the mission - in short the voice of reason compared to the rather excitable main duo of Rick and Jack Levin. This power trio goes on to really form the core of the Mobile Task Force going forward, with everyone else either secondary or tertiary compared to them.
This level of focus means we actually get character revelations and development! The first big one comes in episode 9, which reveals that Jody is actually a cyborg, having been rebuilt after an attack by Zoda years ago. This is also when we learn about her brother, Andy Summer, who was seemingly killed in the attack while protecting Jody. This was what inspired Jody to do a lot of digging, find out that Rick Wheeler was the arch-enemy of Zoda back in the day, and get Rick revived early in order to oppose Zoda - in short, she's the reason Rick is specifically in 2201. She admits she once begrudged him for failing to stop Zoda in the past, but that's behind them now - all that matters now is ensuring Zoda gets captured again. This episode is also where we see her tendency to go off and explore for information on her own, which... doesn't always work out. It tends to result in Zoda showing up to attack her.
Episodes 18 and 22 both have Jody get lost on a distant planet and get attacked by Zoda, but at least she gets to bond with Clank the first time, and Rick gets to learn a bit more about the Dragon Bird the second time. She also gets the White Cat possessed by The Skull in another episode, and Rick is forced to shove her out of the race - not being the main character can kind of hamper your performance. She sticks around as team leader, but in episode 31, Jody gets her next big moment - finding out that her brother Andy isn't actually dead, and his death was faked! Gasp and shock! This time it's Rick who falls into a trap set by Blood Falcon for anyone who kept looking into Jody's brother, but it turns out Dark Million doesn't know anything, they'd just overheard Jody's curiosity and decided to exploit it. It's a few episodes later that we the audience finally learn the truth; Andy Summer is actually Burt Lemming... in other words, Captain Falcon! Don't worry, Jody learns this later. She never gets to properly reunite with him before he punches Black Shadow so hard the galaxy explodes - a true tragedy.
This about sums up Jody's focus episodes, but she gets plenty of less important appearances. Too many for me to aggressively catalog like I tend to do! Usually she's there to either remind Rick and Jack of one thing or another, or to be competent but not quite good enough to win. Which is better than most of the Mobile Task Force gets, really. Ah, the nature of shonen protagonists... as for the games! F-Zero: GP Legend on the GBA gives her one of the game's eight story lines, this one about tracking down the truth of her brother's death by running various races, primarily trying to track down Blood Falcon. Unfortunately, she ultimately doesn't learn anything from Blood Falcon, who successfully escapes entirely without telling her the details. The perils of a game made in the middle of the series, I suppose. Meanwhile, F-Zero Climax gives a bio that has a few tidbits - namely, Jody is quite popular in part due to having a kind and feminine side as well, and her best talent is being able to perfectly follow the racing line - the most efficient course on the track.
Other Information
Super Smash Bros has always given Jody a place of significance. She gets a trophy each in Melee, Brawl, and Wii U, and a spirit battle in Ultimate as well. Her spirit battle has Zero Suit Samus (for herself) and a pink Captain Falcon (for... Captain Falcon) fighting you, the two of them both lighter and faster thanks to the speedy yet fragile nature of F-Zero machines. Jody's spirit gives you... gravity-change immunity, for some reason. I honestly don't know the connection here - maybe just the stability of her machine? Anyhow, speaking of pink Captain Falcon, the white and pink Falcon costume has been a staple of Falcon's since the Melee days, and it's clearly based on Jody's outfit head to toe. She and Falcon definitely get connected a lot - even in the main series, where he's not her brother, John Tanaka's pilot profile video of his impressive dancing ends with his thunder stolen as Jody walks by with Falcon.
This is in the Beastman = Batman category of "possible connections", but Jody has some parallels with Samus Aran. First, there's her general appearance, which honestly looks a lot like Samus's pre-Zero Suit suitless designs. There's her work for a Galactic Federation, just with added space, and her focus chapter in F-Zero GX is the Metroid classic of TIME BOMB SET, GET OUT FAST! On top of that, her general personality in the anime as the calm, stoic leader gives some Samus vibes. Is it intentional? Who knows, if it is, it's not blatant. Either way, hope you enjoyed learning about Jody, and go to the forum thread to help me do next month's!
Pokédex Power
Hello everyone, it's me, Yoshi876 again with a new edition of Pokédex Power, the section written by the person who has got more opinions on new Pokémon stuff since the last edition of this section. This time we have more new Pokémon, and some Galarian forms. Truthfully, I'm not sold on Galarian Weezing, although its ability does sound good for Doubles and maybe the competitive scene, depending on what's coming in. However, I am in love with the Galarian Zigzagoon line, I think they look cool and adorable, and Obstagoon is also appealing. I am duty-bound to love all Ghost-types, and Polteageist is laughable but still likely to factor into a team somewhere, Cramorant is another one I like, although I want to know what the fish in its mouth is, and Morpeko is cute enough.
However, we're still not looking at Generation VIII Pokémon for the time being, and instead looking at a Pokémon that used to be cute, but after evolving was definitely no longer cute. Yes, we will be looking at Diggersby, a massive rabbit Pokémon that uses its ears to dig as well as punch.
I know for my run-through of Pokémon Y, I did train a Diggersby at one point, and I had a good time doing it, despite its appearance. I do know that it didn't feature heavily on my team, so presumably I found another Ground-type that I preferred, possibly Stunkfisk. Diggersby only has the one set of Pokédex entries, but are they good, well let's find out!
Generation VI
| Pokémon X | With their powerful ears, they can heft boulders of a ton or more with ease. They can be a big help at construction sites. |
| Pokémon Y | As powerful as an excavator, its ears can reduce dense bedrock to rubble. When it's finished digging, it lounges lazily. |
| Pokémon Omega Ruby | With their powerful ears, they can heft boulders of a ton or more with ease. They can be a big help at construction sites. |
| Pokémon Alpha Sapphire | As powerful as an excavator, its ears can reduce dense bedrock to rubble. When it's finished digging, it lounges lazily. |
For the past few months, I have been coming up with ways to write about how Generation VI offers nothing new in Pokédex entries, but I don't have to for this month as we do have entries, conveniently enough because it didn't have any others to copy. I like both of these entries, we get the feeling of Diggersby's strength, knowing that not only it can toss boulders, but also that it will delight Minecraft players everywhere by being able to penetrate through bedrock. And not only do we get facts like this, but the Pokédex manages to do my favourite thing and link it to the real-world as we learn that Diggersby work at construction sites, it's a shame that nothing in the Kalos region needed building during the game, it would have been nice to have seen the Diggersby present. And we also learn that Diggersby takes after many of us, as it lounges lazily.
Conclusion The Pokédex entries that Generation VI gave to Diggersby are really good. I can see how this Pokémon functions in the world that is populated with both humans and Pokémon. I do wonder what Diggersby eats, presumably plants, and whether its tunnel-ears are useful in getting these plants, and whether it's able to eat fruit from tree branches, instead of just relying on ground food. I also wonder if anything sees Diggersby as prey, and how it can fight them off, maybe if Diggersby makes it into the Galar Pokédex, we can find out.
The Anatomy of a Kirby
Written by: ArchagentEverlasting (talk)
Hello, my dear readers of the 'Shroom. Today marks the beginning of a new era: My debut in the Strategy Wing! Yes, it's your favorite host, Archagent Everlasting. My section? "The Anatomy of a Kirby"!
But, enough talk of such things. You're probably wondering what we're going to be talking about today. Today we're going to be starting off a series on Kirby Lore, and where better to start it than his signature move, the one and only Inhale?
The Inhale is the move that Kirby is most well-known for, although he is not the only user of it. This move allows Kirby to swallow whatever is in front of him and either consume it or spit it out as a form of attack, depicted as stars for some odd reason. Interestingly enough, the physics of how these stars operate in water change from game-to-game, as in most games, they sink, but in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, Kirby's Return to Dreamland and Kirby: Squeak Squad they travel straight through the water unaffected.
Of course, as you all know, this technique is how Kirby obtains his famous copy abilities, by digesting the enemies that grant such powers through this special power. However, what you may not know is that in his debut, Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby did no such thing and could merely inhale his enemies! How peculiar.
Unfortunately for Kirby, under most circumstances (save some instances in Kirby Triple Deluxe, more on that later) bosses are unable to be inhaled, even if they are the size of most inhalable enemies (although this is not often the case).
In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Kirby does a little routine prior to inhaling and his base Inhale is much stronger than in the games, with him being able to inhale much larger objects normally. However, he gets very tired after inhaling, a feature which is retained in both Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby & the Amazing Mirror.
During the events of Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby's access to this ability was taken away while in his hollow yarn form, due to air just passing right through him. Another situation where Kirby is usually unable to use this power is in underwater settings (exceptions including when he is assisted by Kine or in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. In the latter game you are also able to move whilst inhaling, this is also never explained.)
There are also some objects that, when digested, will hurt Kirby, such as poisonous apples from Whispy Woods and Mariels, which are better known as “those big ol' spiders from Kirby's Dream Land 3”.
Some other users of this technique include other members of Kirby's species, King Dedede, Rick the Hamster in his initial appearance, Whispy Woods, and Star Dream. (Though none of these aside from members of Kirby's species can gain copy abilities from this, save Rick the Hamster, although in his second appearance he is actually seen shoving the enemies into his mouth as opposed to inhaling them.)
Other techniques that are similar to the Inhale also exist in the Kirby world, such as the Steal or Cat Magnum technique used by Tac, Rick's aforementioned eating ability, and the licking ability of both Gooey and ChuChu, who both can grab enemies with their tongue and force them into their mouth.
There is a variation on this technique that serves to make it stronger known as the Super Inhale. This can be achieved in most games it appears in (those being Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Kirby: Squeak Squad, Kirby Triple Deluxe, Kirby Planet Robobot, Kirby Star Allies) by holding the Inhale button down for longer than usual. However, in two of its appearances (Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition) it is achieved through shaking the Wii Remote and is done so to even greater effect. The Super Inhale simply allows Kirby to inhale larger enemies and objects, although if done for too long Kirby gets incredibly tired.
The Inhale also makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. as Kirby's neutral special. While in the first Super Smash Bros. it completely immobilized Kirby while in use, in later entries it made it so Kirby simply had hindered movement. If Kirby so chooses to digest somebody while in this state, he gains their neutral special and spits them back out. You can also choose to spit them back out without gaining their neutral special.
That about does it for information on Kirby's signature technique. Make sure to tune in next month when we look at another ability that's related to how his copy works: the Ability Bubble!
Super Mario Maker 2 Contest
Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)
Hello once again, Strategy Wing readers! I have some updates for you on our Super Mario Maker 2 contest, including a whole host of levels for you to go and play. So grab your Nintendo Switch and read on!
Creation
Unfortunately, we only received two entries into the level creation portion of our contest, so we can't proceed with the public voting period and we don't have enough levels to proceed with the Staff judging, either. That said, I'd like to thank both Doomhiker (talk) and UltraMario (talk) for their contributions. We will be sharing their levels in this issue, and, as thanks for their participation, both of their levels will be covered in a special edition of Course Corner in issue 151. In addition, I welcome any readers who enjoy playing through their levels to submit a short reflection on their experience with these two levels. Without further ado:
UltraMario
Hole in the Wall is "a fairly challenging level inspired by the game show of the same name."
Doomhiker
In Cave of Bones, you explore a cave with a large amount of bones and try to find secrets!
Playing
If those levels aren't enough for you, we've also created a collection of four short courses which you can use to test your speedrunning skills! Or, if you'd rather, you can just play through the levels for fun. Play through any or all of the four courses as many times as you'd like, and, if you want to participate in the contest, send us a screenshot of your best clear times on the victory screen for each course. Clear times will be kept secret until issue 151, when we will share the results tables and show the fastest clear times for all four courses among the submissions we receive from readers. For those readers who submit a time for all four courses, there will also be a results table for total clear time made by combining a participant's four clear times for the individual levels. Here are the four courses which you can play on for this challenge:
World Mushroom-1: Speedrunning
This short course has plenty of gizmos to create a number of alternative paths through the level. There's a lot of room for freedom and experimentation. Can you find a path through the level which minimizes your clear time?
World Mushroom-2: Greed is Good
This level requires more than just running to the goal! There are eighty-five coins scattered in collections of five or ten coins each throughout the level, and you need to collect them all before you can touch the flagpole. How fast can you collect all the coins and get to the goal?
World Mushroom-3: 3D World
Explore a short level which makes use of some of Super Mario 3D World's unique features and mechanics. How quickly can you reach the goal using Clear Pipes, Mystery Boxes, and a Koopa Troopa Car?
World Mushroom-4: Goombrat Hunt
To cap off this celebration of The 'Shroom, why not explore a short level filled with 'shrooms? These mushrooms are, unfortunately, less entertaining and helpful. Before you reach the goal in this course, you'll need to track down and stomp five Goombrats. Be careful not to waste your time on the Goombas, though! And be sure to watch out for that Rotten Mushroom!
In Conclusion
I hope you enjoy playing through these specially-made levels! And, for those of you who read this massive edition of Strategy Wing all the way down here to the bottom, I'd like to thank you once more for the support you provide to our writers. They are, after all, the ones who provide all of this content. Be sure to cast a vote in the section of the month poll below, and go forth and try out the six levels we have as a part of this contest!
| The 'Shroom: Issue 150 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |
| Specials | Awards Analysis • Switch It Up! • Fans in Unusual Places • Challenger Approaching! • A Touch with the Music • Welcome to My Dream World • Super Mario Odyssey Travel Guide |
