G&C Podcast - Episode 275: The Games That Shaped Us #26: Super Paper Mario!

[00:00:00] Hey everybody, on this episode of Gaming and Collecting, me and Alex are going to be doing another iteration of our The Games That Shaped Us series, this time talking about Super Paper Mario released for the Wii. But anyways guys, on with the episode.

[00:00:16] I wasn't ready! Well, we're starting. How you been? I wasn't- my back hurts!

[00:00:42] Well, my pinky toe is possibly broken. Um, yeah. The world's going great. Whatcha drinking? It's too early. I need to say it. That's my line! Don't steal my bit! Did you know we did the drink segment on 3DOs recently? No! You're not allowed! That's my bit! It was completely unintentional. We had Schnickerbit on, and like randomly we just started- That's my bit!

[00:01:13] I had the music and everything. I'm leaving. How do I leave? How do I leave? I'm leaving. It was more of a joke. Can you hear me? When I leave, can you hear me? No. Or do I go silent? You go silent. Oh, you can't hear me? No. Very nice. Anyways.

[00:01:42] I'm dying. It was completely a joke. Just a random thing that happened. I was like, alright. Um, no, you're not allowed anymore. Next time you pod, you better scold Bracklemore. It wasn't his idea. It was Schnickerman's. Schnickerman's! Schnickerman! That's the wrong show! Oh, that was fun. But, um, yeah, it's- Did I tell you how my week started?

[00:02:12] No. I don't think I did. I know your week was massively eclipsed by it, but- Um. Oh, yeah! I literally started like- You know when like, you know a week is just gonna start on the wrong foot? Yep. I literally got up that morning and took, like, I was running behind, things were going bad. And I'm- as I'm walking outside of the- leaving my house, I completely just like slammed my toe. Oof.

[00:02:39] As I was going down the stairs, and I'm pretty sure I broke it. And then as I'm leaving the door, I tripped and fell face first into my fucking, like, sidewalk. Oh! And I was just like, Welp. This week's already off to a great start. And, yeah, that was how I started. And my toe has been killing me all week, and I'm pretty sure it's broken, but you can't do shit about a pinky toe being broken. All you have to just tape it. Yeah, and even then it's not really- But even then it's not- You can't- Not the pinky toe.

[00:03:07] Yeah, it's kind of a thing where I'm like, yeah, that sucks, and I just have to deal with it. Then you have Mr. Oscar. I do. I have Mr. Oscar. I also had like one of those days where like, I swore to God I was getting like a serious cold. Like, I was like sitting- I felt fine all day. I got home, I ate, and I was working out. All of a sudden I got like this chill. And like, I was like, that's weird. And it like progressively got worse as I was working out. I'm like, alright, maybe I should stop.

[00:03:38] So I go and stop, and I showered, and I was like, God, I feel like I am like freezing, but also like hot. Like this is not good. And I spent the rest of the night just on the couch like just shivering and like, I was like, what the hell? So then I went to sleep and I woke up, I woke up the next morning, it was gone. I was like- Oh? That was- Maybe it's like a 24 hour cold or something. I don't know. I was like worried though. I'm like, I don't have sick time. I can't take a sick day right now.

[00:04:05] Because it was on a Wednesday in the middle of the week. I couldn't even justify it. Um, now thankfully it went away, but I was like, what the hell was that? Yeah. I know your week's been eventful. Yeah, it's been a week. Uh, yeah, because, uh, I think it was Monday. What day did you- Yeah, it was Monday. Everything felt normal.

[00:04:29] And then I was upstairs and I was watching stuff and it was like right before I went to bed and I hear a fucking scratching sound coming from the attic. And I'm like, oh my God. I'm like, what the fuck is that? So then like, I start freaking out. So, so I go up there and oh, well, I'm also like calling our mom. I'm like, she's like, don't go up there. Don't go up there. I'm like, I have to go up there. I have to see.

[00:04:57] Um, and so I was going through stuff and I went through a couple things and I was like, uh, like, I don't know. Like, I'm like, I don't know. So, so then the next day I, mom said to Bill that he was going to have to come up with me to check in the attic. So he did, which was nice. But then I come home and then my fucking garage door opener breaks.

[00:05:24] Yeah. Well, my car is like in there and like, so Bill comes over and I'm like crying. Uh, cause like the day just got fucking worse and we go up there and, um, I went through a couple of my storage bins. Um, cause I knew I had, I, I kept all of Tilly's old beds. Um, cause they were just, you know, special. I, you know, I, I just, I couldn't throw her stuff away.

[00:05:53] So I, I put them in storage bins upstairs and, um, I went through and I mean, thankfully we went through and nothing was destroyed. Like nothing was, there was no holes, didn't look like anything, but there was definitely stuff in there because we like, we emptied out. Like she had her bee bed. We emptied it out and it was full of like seeds and like acorns.

[00:06:20] I don't know. Like it was just, it was fucking weird. So I don't know what's up there. I haven't heard any other scratching since then. It's also really hot. So I don't think anything's up there. And I put a bunch of like rodent repellent, like minty things up there. So I'm, I'm hoping I talked to an exterminator cause the condo is actually going to pay for it, which is really nice.

[00:06:44] Um, and I talked to the exterminators that are coming by and they say it happens all the time in these condos. Cause, uh, and they, and they said, it's not even like that your house is dirty. A lot of the times it's just like the mouse are so confused, like all the animals. Cause like our seasons have been fucked up for like a while now, but like I was talking to my, and I was chatting with my neighbors the other day and they were like, oh yeah, we've had them before.

[00:07:09] It just, it happens with condos, I guess. So apparently they're in there all the time. The pest control people are there all the time. So it's not as uncommon as you think, but like you just never liked the idea of something being in your house. I know I have mice every now and then. It's not fun. I mean, thankfully the thing is I've never seen one downstairs. And I think I know the reason why. You have two reasons why that doesn't happen. Yes. And I know for certain.

[00:07:39] One of them I'm pretty sure would be, would try to befriend them. Who? Oscar? Oh yeah. The one who's currently, he's in my lap right now. Yeah. That, that, that boy right there will try to befriend the mouse. I don't know. I don't know. Poopy would. No, Poopy would. Poopy would kill it. Poopy would murder it in cold blood. Like she has all of the toys. Oscar is like too friendly.

[00:08:06] Hey, hey, don't chew, freaking chewing on my headphones cord. Don't be naughty or I'll put you down. Not, not like that. Not like that. On the ground. He's in my lap right now. Yeah, I know, I know. I didn't want to say it. I was just like, hmm.

[00:08:26] So this week's just been, and then I also had a, I had an appointment for duct and dryer vent cleaning, which was good because like literally I looked behind my dryer vent. Like, um, well not the dryer vent, but like in the dryer in the back of how mine is, like you can kind of see. I was, I was able to see like dryer vent built up in there, which is never good. So I just hadn't used it.

[00:08:52] I was doing laundry at Phil's place for a couple weekends because I just didn't want to take the risk. I mean, thankfully dad was telling me because our dad fixes appliances that like an electrical electric dryer is like very, like the chances of it, like having a fire because of dryer vent are so much lower than like a gas one. A gas one is when you have to worry more about it, but I'm paranoid. So I didn't want to take the chance, but I looked at it after he did the cleaning. All right. All right. All right. All right.

[00:09:22] You're free. You're free. He was squirming. Um, but he still wants attention. All right. Uh, deal with it. Uh, so I looked in the back and like, you couldn't see all the lint was gone. So I think it worked pretty well. Nice. Which was good. And my ducks got clean too, which was cool. Like he was showing me the before and after pictures. I was like, Jesus. Yeah. So much skin and cat fur. Yeah. I have your beds. They're clean by the way.

[00:09:50] Well, the donut still has a lot of fur in it because that's just, you're going to have to remove that yourself. Oh yeah. Yeah. That'll be like lint roll. Also those things were so heavy. My dryer was like, no. So I had there, they, they got half dried and they air dried for the last three days, but uh. That's okay. I appreciate you looking after them, but it's been a fucking week. And today I did a bunch of chores. I did, I vacuumed, I mopped the floors. I cleaned the cat's water bowls.

[00:10:19] Cause I, I do those like, I have like every 15 days, I have a timer, um, on the app for it. So I cleaned those and then I cleaned the cat box and then I went grocery shopping. I got a lot of shit done, but. Oh yeah. We, we, we went to Walmart and we saw the people of Walmart today. Um. But it's so much cheaper. I get so much more stuff for the same amount I paid at the other store.

[00:10:44] So I'm like, I hate going there, but I like what I pay there. So I'm going to take it. Uh, yeah, it's. Yeah. The trip there was eventful. We had a absolute idiot in a car. Yeah. Like I was coming, the light was green, a car in front of me went by and then the guy just was like, I'm just going to turn even though you're right there. Yeah. And then he just like kept going and I was like. Yeah. And I like slammed the arm.

[00:11:13] I'm like, what are you doing? And I, I got. He gets in the breakdown and it just keeps driving at the breakdown. Like what? Okay. Yeah. Like people are. People are stupid. And then being in the store wasn't that bad. It was just more crowded. It's crowded. And like the thing I hate about Walmart is the fact that like, you never feel like you're like, you feel like you're constantly being rushed. Like to look at everything. That's the thing that, that's the reason I don't like shopping there more than anything.

[00:11:43] Cause I like to like look at stuff and like when I feel like I'm constantly being like, when you feel like there's constantly someone up your butt, it basically like being like, you're going to move. You're going to move. Yeah. You're taking, you're, you took two seconds to look. You're taking too long. That's why I go with specific items that I'm like, okay, this is what I'm looking for. Except for the bagels. I didn't know what I wanted for the bagels. I thought that old lady behind us was going to murder us. Cause like, she had no idea she was there. All she had to say was, excuse me. I know what I want already.

[00:12:13] And I would have gladly moved. They'd rather just see than rage and then talk about your back when you leave. She didn't, but I know people would do that. And then I saw the greatest moment of all time leaving. Yeah. This was such a Walmart moment where I saw, I had like, I grabbed a few things while I was there. So I had like, I had a small basket of like maybe like 12, like nine to 12, like seven things. Alex had to go into the real registers and. Well, cause I'm a good person. I follow the rules. Yeah.

[00:12:42] No one else was like all the people I was waiting by and had like way more than 15 items. And I was like, I just want to self-check out. This is, this is why the world sucks. But like, it was taking forever. And the lady in front of me, like she had like a full cart and I was like, yeah, whatever. I don't, I don't care enough to complain. Um, a thing finally, and all the people in the checkouts were taking fucking forever. Like, cause I swear to God, self-checkout.

[00:13:09] I'm probably calling people out that we know, but like, I swear to God, some people are so fucking challenged. Like they can't figure it out. It's not that fucking hard unless it's one of those stores where the self-checkout is the most finicky fucking shit. Cause some of them are Walmart is not. Walmart has like the least finicky ones I think ever. Um, they just take forever. But finally the lady in front of me finally gets to a spot and I'm waiting there and I watch, she goes up to the thing, waits for the guy to get distracted.

[00:13:38] And then just, she just straight up walks out of the store. Didn't pay for anything. No. And I was just like, did that just like, I watched her walk out the, the guy checking roosties didn't stop her. I'm just like, eh, I'm like, okay, whatever. I get the shot. I'm like, I'll take this. And as I walk over to the unused thing. And what's funny is the guy who was managing them, he kind of looked over and was like confused. Then he just was like, I don't get paid enough for this. It just looked away.

[00:14:08] Yeah. Um, yeah, that happened. I was like, all right, cool. Uh, yeah. The world is funny sometimes. Yep. No, it is. Oh, Bill, you gotta, you gotta ask me some, a question. Is it about your new obsession? Maybe. So how's me topia or whatever it's called. It's Tom and Donji life. Living the fucking dream.

[00:14:37] I just, I just merged the two games we're playing right now. And it's amazing. Actually, I'm having so much fun. I think it was the RPG actually. When I think about it. Yes. Mitopia was the RPG. This however, is Tomodachi life. Living the dream. And I have been living the dream. Alex has spent her life. The only thing though, that kind of stinks.

[00:15:06] But honestly, I did like someone, someone posted on the Reddit, the subreddit for Tomodachi. Like, it did make me laugh. It's like, the only thing that stinks, you can't share me's. There's no me sharing. I'm hoping in the future, maybe they change that. But for now, there's no me sharing. So it's been fun looking at everyone's different versions of like the same characters you're creating.

[00:15:31] So I've had to make all of my me's on my island by myself. Maybe I'll post them in the server. I don't know. I think I did a pretty bad job on most of them. They look fine. Get out of here. They don't look great. I recognized all of them easily. At least the ones that you knew. Okay. Maybe I will. The ones that you showed me. I was like, I know what all those are. But yeah.

[00:15:59] So it was funny because this guy posted on the subreddit. And he was like, it was like a, with a Tomodachi character, like a me character, like pointing. And it was like, you can draw. You can do it. Because like a lot of the like fun details and stuff. Like, like I made, well, I made Luffy. That was the first. Well, I made myself. That was the, I made myself as a me first. And then I was like, hmm, what do I make next? Luffy. So I made Luffy.

[00:16:28] And then I had to draw the scar under his eye by myself. Everything else. I had hair that matched pretty good for him. But then I made Zoro. And Zoro is more challenging because in the current, like most recent, he like doesn't have one of the eyes. And they also don't have like a jewelry option. So I drew his earrings, the three sword earrings. And then I like covered his eyeball. So like it's like only one eye and I put the scar in there.

[00:16:56] And then I did Sanji, which I was really proud of how the beard came out. Well, goatee situation. Yeah. So I started out with one piece. And then I was like, hmm. I love the fact, though, that like everyone's complaining about the no me sharing. And then I'm like, but Nintendo is forcing people to be creative. Like the intention of the game. I mean, that's the only thing is like I'm like, yeah. Yeah.

[00:17:22] I like after that guy was like, you can draw, you know, and it's okay if your things aren't perfect. Because it's been fun. Because on Twitter, I've been just seeing like so many people's different iterations. And then also some like cursed abominations as well, which has been fun. Like I think I. Penis heads. Penis heads everywhere. Yes. And then there was the guy who like made the penis guy be friends with the butthole guy. And they fell in love. That happened.

[00:17:52] That was great. But who else did I make? And then I made Welcome to Demon School Aruma. I made Aruma, Asmodeus, and Clara. And then after that, I made Kaijin number eight. I made Kafka, Hoshina, and Kikaru. And then the funniest shit happened because like sometimes Mies can fall in love at first sight.

[00:18:18] And Hoshina fell in love with Kafka at first sight. That's accurate to the manga. And it was pretty accurate. I'm thinking of love. Well, actually, no, no. It would have been so much better if it was Hoshina and Narami. Yes. That would have been amazing. But I didn't make Narami. I've just been making like three characters. Narami would be difficult because he's got the pink and black hair. Yeah. Well, you can do two colored hair, but it would, yeah, it would still be difficult.

[00:18:47] Well, his is hard because it's pink on top and like black underneath. So it's like a, it's complicated. Yes. So that's why I went with Kafka, Hoshina, and Kikaru because all of those seemed relatively not too hard to make. And then after that, I made, I hadn't sent them to you because I knew you wouldn't really know who they were. But I made two Haikyuu characters and then I made two Blue Lock characters as well. Well, the Haikyuu ones I could recognize just because they're the red haired guy and the black haired guy. Yeah. There you go.

[00:19:16] So those are the two I made. And then Blue Lock, I made two characters as well. So, you know, guys, if you have any suggestions, I mean, by the time this comes out, I'll probably have a fully populated island. She'll have the whole cast of One Piece, the whole cast of Varuma. Well, I'm trying to like do more than just like One Piece. Oh, and then the funniest thing is, so Zoro confessed his love for my me. So now we're dating.

[00:19:48] So I'm dating Zoro. Well, if he never comes back, he got lost. That's all you can say. He did. Well, and then him. And then what's funny, too, is that like so in this game, instead of like the big apartment, everyone has their own little houses. But they can also be like, hey, you want to move in together and get a bigger house? So now it's Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji all live in a house together. And then you can nickname it. So I called it the Strahd App Pirates.

[00:20:17] And they all live together happily ever after. Nice. Yeah. I'd share my... So that's been my life. I'd share my Pocopia journey, but I've literally spent the last like three play sessions water and grass. So it's not that exciting right now. I'm working on it. My OCD, man. Like, you'll be going around and be like this dirt and dry grass.

[00:20:44] Because it's basically Minecraft meets Animal Crossing meets Dragon Quest Builders. Like, it's got a lot of things going on meets Pokemon. It's an interesting hybrid game. It's really fun. But it's kind of like one of those long con kind of games. So you got to really wait it out. Speaking of anime, though, I did finish up a few things and started a few new things this week.

[00:21:13] Did we mention the last time around that I had finished... I finished Jujutsu Kaisen. Yes. I don't think you mentioned that last time, but... Yeah, I finished Jujutsu Kaisen. And it... The last episode was fun, but I still didn't really care. It was just kind of a whatever kind of thing. I finished Freeran. Just kind of bummed Freeran ended.

[00:21:42] And then I finished today... My Hero Academia Vigilante Season 2. Really good ending. Really enjoyed that. Is that continuing after? There's more manga, and they left it very ambiguous. Okay. That's what I was wondering. Season 2 ends with a two-year time skip, which I found odd. So I'm hoping that... But maybe that's how the manga actually goes. That's what I'm hoping it is.

[00:22:11] I'm hoping that that's what it is, and that we actually get more. Because I'm honestly super invested in Vigilantes. Like, we got all of My Hero Academia. Why wouldn't we get Vigilantes? Because apparently the... Vigilantes is really popular. Like, apparently the manga itself is. Yeah. Are you tempted to start collecting it? Probably not. I'd probably just get the Shonen app. I don't have space for another super long... Fake fan! Fake fan! Fake fan! Okay, miss. You don't even read your manga. Yes, I do! Ew! That's rude.

[00:22:41] Well, so are you. I'm leaving. Goodbye. I love that I can do that now. It's just so fun because it adds more emphasis to the... I'm leaving! Why don't you think this is funny? Get back here. I do think it's funny. I can still hear you while I'm off the stage. I know. You just can't hear me. Oh, wait.

[00:23:11] I'm going to tell your deepest, darkest secret. Oh, my God. Bill, shit this pants! Oh, no! What? When I was like a... So have you. Last week. At work. No, I didn't. I saw him waddling out. We don't work together anymore. I was spying on you. No, you weren't. Yeah, I wasn't. You would not... I heard about it, though. I heard about it. I don't talk to anybody there.

[00:23:41] Who would you hear it from? Everyone could smell it. No, they can't. Because I'm pretty sure there have been people, but that's besides the point. Moving on, though. You. Oshinoko Season 3 has been good. Um, it's amazing how that show can have, like, such a happy, like, start to something, and then it gets dark as fuck. I mean, that show didn't start out super happy, either. No, no, no. But I mean, there are moments, though, like, post... Post-Episode 1 is its own thing.

[00:24:11] That episode is... That's a dark way to start, though. I know, but... I feel like it really was happy. Once the series starts proper, you do get a lot of, like, the different things that are more on the positive side at times, but, like, there are just moments where it just gets dark, and I'm like, oh, right, this show is, like, a really dark meta-commentary. Very fun, though. I'm enjoying it so far. And then the first episode of... Is this the last season? I don't think so.

[00:24:41] Oh, okay. I'm just judging... I don't know. We'll have to see how it goes. Well, it also depends if they want to rush the ending. Or Akka will do what he's doing with Kaguya-sama and just make his own ending for the anime. Maybe. He might, because didn't people not really like the manga ending? Um... I don't really know.

[00:25:11] The Kaguya-sama ending is, like, fine. Like, it's real... Oh, no, I meant the... Oh, the Oshiyonoko ending is controversial, yes. Yes. That's what I was talking about. So, maybe. We'll see on that. I did start watching the first episode of that time I got reincarnated as a slime came out, which was really fun. Mm-hmm. Were they in a meeting? Only for, like, one small scene. The episode actually was pretty interesting. No, I know. I just saw people complaining.

[00:25:41] Well, yeah, because people like to complain about shit. This one was actually pretty... This one was cooking, though. Like, obviously, like, all the main cast came back. Like, fucking... Brittany as Rimuru is fucking amazing. Like, she is killing it. Like, she is, like, perfect for that role. Jump! Jump! Jump! I said jump! I said jump! But, um... Beyond that, like, there was a fun subplot involving, um... There's, like...

[00:26:07] I think there's, like, gonna be now, like, a bit of, like, a romance, like, rivalry between Shuna and Shion going on. Because, like, there was a whole scene where... There hasn't been? Yeah, but this time they're, like... They're actually addressing it, like, as it's, like, actually a drama point, not just for laughs. Because there was, like, a whole scene where, like, Shion once again can't cook. And then Shuna makes this amazing thing. And, like, you could see, like, Riru's all happy about it. You just see this look of disappointment from Shuna. And I'm like...

[00:26:36] It's getting, like, dramatic. But also, it's funny. They're dramatic gals. I really enjoyed it, though. The only thing is, though, because I had my country role on autoplay, I wasn't really paying attention. Another thing came out recently. And because I had watched the last season, it was just kind of already queued in my autoplay. I watched the first episode of The Vending Machine. Why? Because it started playing, and I was like... Oh. I might as well see.

[00:27:05] I'm not going to subject myself to that. No, I won't tell you to. I will say... First off, the VA's back. Like, I guess he's just back permanently now. Maybe he was just on a break. But it literally... It was really funny watching Slime and then watching that back-to-back, because I'm like, wow, this show really just wants to be Slime at times. What's funny, though, is, like, this episode... The first episode of the season, I was like, this is still bad.

[00:27:33] But, like, it's almost like they've acknowledged that it's shit. And they're just kind of going with it now. Because it... Excuse me. Don't die! I'm trying not to. It was like a case of, like... They weren't trying to be serious or, like, build lore. They were instead just, like, being like, this is stupid. Like... Can I podcast like this? Can you hear me? Like... Not reliably, so maybe not.

[00:27:59] But my back feels so much better like this. Ow. I fucked on my back. Ow. I'm trying to get comfy. That's called... That's called... Alex, that's called turning 30. It just happens now. Fuck you! I'm not 30! Yes, you are. I am, too. No, I'm not. I'm 29 forever. I promise. Ugh. Yeah, but I watched those. I still gotta start Dorohedoro. I keep forgetting it's out. So that's... That's also... I saw that on Crunchyroll.

[00:28:30] Yeah, it is. I'm not sure if it's dubbed on Crunchyroll, though. I was so confused when I saw it. I was like, alright, more love to Dorohedoro. Let's go. What are you drinking, Alex? Then I'm gonna wait for what... We need to talk about my anime watching first. Well, I don't know. Sometimes you're like, I didn't watch anything. But I am watching stuff. I finally got caught up with One Piece. Finally. It took me forever, but I'm caught up to Egghead, and then there's two episodes of El Bath Outs

[00:28:59] that I just need to watch, but I've been, like... I need to, like, focus when I watch them because they're gonna be in sub. So... I can't wait. I'm so, so excited. But yeah, I finally got caught up to that, and now I'm re-watching Spy Family Season 3 because, like, I kind of forgot what was going on, so... And it was bothering Bill that I didn't finish it. So, I'm finally finishing it. Bill. Bill!

[00:29:29] You had, like, two episodes left, and you just stopped. The guy was on a break. I was on an anime break. We were on a break. I was. Oh my god! Bill. What? Just wait for it. Uh, you're Luffy. I'm Luffy! Wait, wait. Actually, is there one with... It's not really. I need, like...

[00:29:59] That's close. Does he have black hair? No, I'll just... No, he's a... He would be a cat, so, like, all the hair would be black. Yeah, but the little vest, he doesn't work with it. So... I'm just gonna go with regular cat for now. Okay. But I have a straw hat. But yes, I have been watching anime, Bill. I have been. So... Take that. I just... I'm like, I can't get over it sometimes. What?

[00:30:28] Well, you were, like, so... You're gonna watch Black Clover, what, the second it starts, though, right? Well, yeah. That's... That's special. Okay. Because you... Because you said the same thing about Dory Doro because you were so desperate for a season two. But now you're just gonna wait. Well, that's different, though. Dory Doro's only gonna be, like, 12 episodes. To be fair, though, we don't know how long Black Clover season two is gonna be. True. But that's also, like, a lot longer. It's different. It's different. I know all of Black...

[00:30:59] I... I... I've also read, like, all of Black Clover, like, up until, like, the next arc. So I've just been so hyped to see it animated, like... Fair. Like, I'm just... I'm so fucking hyped for that. Especially because the animation's gonna be so much better now, too. Because animation has just improved. It better be. Or I will. There isn't Bardo to suck up all the resources from... Yeah. ...to your bro.

[00:31:28] So they're gonna actually, like, pull a lot of effort into it. And I hope it gets, like, the... You know... Unless it's being diverted to Bleach right now, but we'll see. Fuck Bleach! We want Black Clover! I saw a clip of a lady quoting Bleach as a lawyer in a court case. That's a strategy that you have to be very confident in what you're saying. Well, yeah.

[00:31:55] It was a bad strategy because she kept referencing the Bound arc and how no one cares about the Bound arc. And that was what she was trying to say is no one cares about the Bound arc, so you shouldn't care about my... Unless the judge is a weed that... That argument is gonna mean nothing to him. I know! That's what I thought! And I was like, that's crazy. I've been on, like, a weird stretch. That's a crazy take. I've been on a weird YouTube stretch of just watching, like, lawyers react to stupid lawyer, like, courtroom stuff. And it has been really funny watching.

[00:32:25] Because it's like, there is some... Like, some courtroom shit is a comedy. You know... One of my favorite ones is... I mean, it's terrible that it happened, but when the guy just jumps over onto the desk of, like, the judge and just... I've seen... There's a few of those. And I'm like... I'm like, holy shit! Like, the fact that, like, no one stepped in before that? The best one is the one where the judge is, like, arguing with a lawyer and he's like, you want to take this outside? And they go out and the judge beats the fucking shit out of him.

[00:32:53] And then just comes back in and he's like... Alright, I'm sorry. He ended up getting... Losing his job, but, like, it was still... It was worth it. The funniest fucking things I've ever seen. I also love... I hope he got, like, a WWE career. The fucking lawyer. Just this old judge. No, not the lawyer. The judge. The judge beat the shit out of the blood. That would be his... That would be his... That would be his, um... Wrestler name. The judge. The judge. I just laughed at it. The judge beat. I've been...

[00:33:23] I've been watching all of these, um... These court things. And I'm like... Every time I watch them, I'm like... Maybe Phoenix Wright isn't a parody. Maybe that just is how the court system goes. I don't think all of it. Like, I think those are just a few exaggerated moments. I know. It's just... It's really funny to me. One of my favorite clips is the one of the guy who's, like... He's videoing in to his, uh... His, uh... Court date. And, um...

[00:33:53] The judge is like, Are you driving? Oh, the driving guy? And he's like, Yes, sir! Yes, I am! I just gotta park! Or the one juror who's on a fucking canoe. No, but the best part about the guy who's driving is that the... The judge is like, Doesn't he have a suspended license? Yes, that was a good one. And the whole point was for that! And he's like, Alright. My favorite... My favorite from... My favorite one from the...

[00:34:23] From the freaking, like... Virtual courtrooms. That was, like, the funniest part of COVID for a long time. My favorite one is still the guy who pops in and the judge is like, Are you there? Is your name buttfucker3000? You're gonna pop into my courtroom with that, you yahoo? Like, I was just like, That's one of the funniest fucking clips. I also love the one where the guy's like, Uh, sir, I think you have a... Yes! He's like,

[00:34:52] But my favorite line is, I'm not a cat! Yeah. The way he says it, With full sincerity of, like, That people would think he's an actual fucking cat. Talking is just... Hilarious! I'm not a cat! I promise! Like, I'm just like... VR court...

[00:35:21] Virtual court was such a... Such a time. They still do it, but... I think they still do it! They do for certain cases that they don't... Want to bother, like, that aren't that big. But just... During that era, though, in particular, Where the whole world was a shit show. That was... That was the funniest time. I've been so, like... A bunch of people from my work have gotten, like, Called in for jury duty. And then now I'm just like, Oh, God. Because I've... I've done Massachusetts jury duty, But I've never done Connecticut jury duty. Neither have I. Because I got out of my last jury duty

[00:35:51] Because I was technically... Not... I was... I was considered moving at the time. Because I was in the process of moving to Connecticut. Yeah. Alright, Bill. What are you drinking, Alex? You've... I've seen it a few times. Uh... Where is it? There I do. Ow! Oh! That was a mistake. Okay. No dancing. No dancing. Ow, that really fucking hurt. Okay.

[00:36:20] That's why I'm drinking something with alcohol to numb the pain. My back really fucking hurts. Um... I'm drinking a ginro green grape. Uh... Imported. Neutral spirits with natural and artificial flavors. 13% alcohol. 375 milliliters. Produced by... I don't know.

[00:36:50] It's fun. That's all that matters. How's the taste? Government warning. According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of risk of birth defect. Well, don't worry about that because... Children. Anyways. But, uh... I've had these before, but I haven't had the grape flavor. But I gotta say...

[00:37:19] I think the grape flavor is the best flavor so far. It's actually grape. It's not purple. Yes, it's not purple. Is that a dog? Oh, it's a frog! Look! There's a little frog guy. See? Hell yeah. Um... I thought he was a dog for a second. We gotta go back to that liquor store and get more of those because those are fun. It's pretty good. I like that. I like the, uh... The remove flavor ones. Like, those are good. Hmm. Um... Um... Yeah.

[00:37:49] I would get this again, but I might try a different flavor. But it was good. You can only have one of those at a time, though, because... Ooh. Um... That's why I'm drinking it to numb the back pain. I could lay down again. Alright, you talk. I'm gonna lay down. My drink is not nearly as fun. I'm drinking a twisted tea because it was in the fridge and they were on sale. Wait. Wait. Can you hear me better like this? Yeah. For the most part. Okay.

[00:38:18] I might just do this. Okay. My back really fucking hurts. I'm not kidding. You and our mother, apparently. I know. I mean, mine... I could probably wake up tomorrow and my back will be killing me, but, um... I'm drinking a twisted tea. They were on sale at the liquor store and it was, like, one of those massive packs. I'm like, well, that's more alcohol for cheaper. So, sign me up. Um... Twisted teas are okay. They're not my favorite, but every now and then...

[00:38:48] I... I miss those Dells teas. Hmm. I miss them so bad. They only did them for, like, two years and then they stopped. And I've hated them ever since. See, my favorite... Fuck you, Dells. Bring them back. See, my favorite thing about, um... Twisted teas are those giant fucking cans that were considered weapons at one point. Um... Mm. Mm. Because whenever I... I remember going to, like, a NASCAR race and just getting one of those and that would just be... Keep you good for, like, a good, like, hour. Just walking around.

[00:39:18] Uh... Fun times. But, uh, yeah. Uh... It's... It's fine. I'm not a huge Twisted tea guy, but... When they're cheap and, like, it's... They're fine. I like when they have, like, the different flavors. Oh, yeah. There was a variety pack recently. You can get the one with lemon. Like, with lemonade. Mm. Because I just love an Arnold Palmer. Mm. I'll never forget that girl I went to school with that straight up thought he was... It wasn't actually a real person. Oh.

[00:39:48] That is one of my favorite moments in, like, school where I realized... I mean, it could happen. Like, I don't know. Maybe you just think it's, like, a fun name. I don't know. He's on the can. He's literally on the can. Oh, yeah. No, but, like, sometimes you go to, like, restaurants and then, like, they're like, you want an Arnold Palmer? And you're like... Like, you're like, can I get Icy and Lemonade? And they're like, you want an Arnold Palmer? And you're like, sure. Whatever the fuck that means. Just the... The way she said it, though, always makes me laugh. Because it was literally...

[00:40:17] It was a documentary talking about figures in, like, Massachusetts. In, like, not Massachusetts. Just, like, America. Anime? That would have been fun. But, no. We weren't allowed to have fun in school. And anime wasn't considered cool yet by that point. The boom hadn't happened. Please don't do that. Can you let me finish my story, please? No. No, but it was, like, Arnold Palmer comes up in the middle of the thing.

[00:40:46] And I just remember her in the back going, He's a real person? I thought he was just a drink. Just, I remember the entire class being, like... Was she a pick-me? It means, like, the girls are like, ooh! Like, attention. You don't know what a pick-me is? Um... No. I don't want to talk about the person anymore. Oh, yeah.

[00:41:14] I doubt that they listen. I don't either. Talk shit! Talk all the shit! We weren't a bad person. I just thought that one moment was funny. Did you hear that? I hope you break it. I really do. It sounded like a fart. Granted, though, that class was also the class that really thought Alaska and Hawaii were down there. And they... Yes, yes, I know.

[00:41:39] And my favorite was the one person in the class who was like, wait, you mean the states aren't color-coded? I'm like, I looked at the... That must have been a joke. No! It was... If you... My freshman year class was... There's a reason why I got bumped up a level, but I was, like, one of those weird kids that was, like, too smart for the level I was in, but not smart enough for the next level. One of those weird limbo kids. No! I think you were smart enough.

[00:42:07] Alex, I went from being, like, a straight A student to... Teachers. I was also... No, no, no, no. Because the first year in it, I had one of the greatest math teachers of all time. Oh. Well, you just didn't apply yourself. I also just hated school. That's besides the point. Exactly. You didn't enjoy it, so you didn't apply yourself. I don't like when you say that you weren't smart enough. Because you were smart enough. You just didn't want to apply yourself. You were fully capable of succeeding.

[00:42:37] I still... That was, like, one of the few times, though, I actually got a laugh from, like, classmates, because I didn't really talk much in school. But, like, when the person asked that, like, that the states weren't really color good, and I looked at her, I'm like, is... I'm sorry, is Massachusetts purple? Like, pointing outside. I just missed, like... The grass just suddenly turns purple. Oh, my God. Maybe he was colorblind. It was a she. Maybe she was colorblind. Maybe she thought the grass was purple. I don't know.

[00:43:06] Colorblind doesn't work that way. Maybe it does. I don't know how colorblind works. No, it's mostly red and green, because I had to take a colorblind test when I was at the eye doctors recently, and I found out I'm not colorblind, so... Oh, yeah, I took that, too. But, um... I had to take that at work, too. I didn't. I have to do an eye test at work now, because I'm signing off on important documents. That's fun. It's not. I'm scared. Ah! Ah!

[00:43:36] Uh, we should probably move on to our topic, though. Yeah! Thanks so much for listening, you guys! Because it's 40 minutes in. Thanks so much for listening! Stop it. It's been a great podcast! The topic is nothing! Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye! That was rude. I didn't... What? I gave you a thumbs up. Yeah.

[00:44:06] Sure. Sure. There's no one watching. There's no one watching. They only can believe me. Why would I lie? I gave you a nice thumbs up. See, I'm giving you another one now. If that's what your thumb is, you've got problems. Wait, you're telling me this isn't my thumb? I've been giving people thumbs up all the time! I know that's not true. But, um... Is this my thumb? Is this my middle finger? Pinky up!

[00:44:36] Pinky up! So we're doing... Pinky up! It's fancy now! So we're doing another, um... Games That Shaped Us. Wow! We're going all the way back... It's fine. So we're going all the way back to... The wonderful year of 2007. Eee! It was such a wonderful year, it made Alex sick.

[00:45:06] No, I swallowed my drink wrong. I jumped on it a little bit. We're talking about Super Paper Mario from 2007. A entry in the Mario Party... I'm not Mario Party. Paper Mario series for the Nintendo Wii. Um, this was actually one of the first... Uh, Wii games we had. Mm. But it was not the first one we played. The first game we played was Wii Sports. Um, because of course it was.

[00:45:36] Yes. So... Super Paper Mario was a weird game. Because this was like a game... That... I mostly played, but Alex like lived vicariously through. Yes. Back in the day. Well, and this game also... Altered how the series Super Paper Mario would be. After. And it never recovered. Yeah. Because the first three games were super... Two. Two? Okay, well, it was just two. The first two games... This was the third one? Yes.

[00:46:05] The first two games followed basically the same... I thought there was a third one. This was the third game. Well, no, I thought there was another... No, there was... So it was... It was Paper Mario on N64, and then it was Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door on GameCube. Unless you're thinking of Mario RPG. Okay, maybe that's what I'm thinking of.

[00:46:28] Which was kind of a spiritual predecessor to the original Paper Mario, because the original Paper Mario actually started life as Mario RPG 2. Okay. So, yeah. But this was the one that changed the series. But also, like... I feel like most people could agree that A Thousand Year Door is not an easy game to follow up with. It's not. But I will say, this is a game that was very misunderstood when it first came out.

[00:46:59] And while I still... There are still people who don't care for it today. Many people agree they'll take this over what the series has been doing since. Yes. Because in my personal opinion, I don't know if Alex will agree, because I know she's looked into the other games. Because this game has quite possibly the best story in a Mario game ever. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Which is insane to me, because this game is so strange.

[00:47:28] In, like, the best way possible. Because I actually do believe, like, this game has maybe, like, one of my favorite villains. Because he's such a... Not the villain villain, but, like, the... The villain who you see most of the game. Yep. Because he has such a tragic story. Like, the entire story of Super Paper Mario, you kind of get, like, introduced to it right at the start of the game with that whole, like, slideshow book thing. Like, explaining everything.

[00:47:58] But, like, you never get it fully. You kind of learn it as the game goes. But, like, it is, like, super compelling. Like, there is genuine, heartbreaking moments in this game. Yeah. Like, this game is surprisingly deep. Well, and even, like, some of the side characters and stories that you meet, too. Like, the underwear land is such an interesting... I love that the netherworld is called the underwear.

[00:48:23] But it's also, like, one of the most, like, interesting levels in the game, too. Oh, yeah, because, like, there's the whole thing with, like, the queen down there. Her daughter is, like, an angel up above. But she's actually the... One of the pure hearts. Yeah. She has to sacrifice herself to become the pure heart for Mario. It does get kind of dumped on at the end because she just explicably comes back in the postgame. But that's besides the point. That's just a nice...

[00:48:52] The scene is heartbreaking, okay? That's all I can say. Also, like, just the betrayal at the end. And then, like, the whole... Like, once you actually find out the true backstory of Count Black. That's his name. Yes. The main villain of this game. But we should probably explain the gameplay. So, this game was notable because this game changed things a lot for the series. Well, because it started...

[00:49:20] It was an RPG for the first two games. And this one, it kind of... It still has RPG mechanics, but it does not have that typical RPG format. Yes. The first two were, like, classic, like, turn-based RPGs. But, like, very unique ones for the time. Like, Thousand Year Door, I still think, is tied with Bowser's Inside Story as, like, the best Mario RPG ever made. In a lot of ways.

[00:49:46] Super Paper Mario, though, is interesting because they changed it to a side-scrolling action RPG. Where, like, you still... Enemies still have, like, hit points and stuff. And, like, you still have to, like, attack them. Like, you don't just, like... You don't stop on a Goomba and immediately kill it. You have to actually, like, hit it a few times because it's RPG stuff. Yep. But it's, like, a 2D platformer. And I believe, from what I've read,

[00:50:09] the inspiration for this game's setup was based on the popularity of the Bowser side-scrolling levels from Thousand Year Door. Because they were, like, really popular at the time. But... The whole game itself is kind of interesting because it's played exclusively from the 2D until you do this cool mechanic called the flip mechanic. Yep. Where you... The game flips from side-scrolling into 3D and you have to use the...

[00:50:39] Thrak, stop it. You have to use... Unrelated. I posted on one of the servers about the... How, like, all of our podcasts have had, like, spiked views recently and, like, everything's been going up. And Thrak responded, It's because of the nude leaks, isn't it? And I'm just like... Nope. What? Don't ask. Where did he post that? It's in a server you're not in. It's fine. It's not important. Why? I got distracted by it.

[00:51:09] Thrak-O-Mor. Stop distracting the podcast. That's my job. But, um... Yeah, it was... It's interesting because, like, certain puzzles, like, you'd reach, like, a puzzle where you're like, How do I cross this? And then, like, you swap it to 3D and you're like, Oh, there's, like, a thing here I can jump on that was invisible in 2D. It's just... It's a cool mechanic. Like, just the idea. And this is set in the world... The world is, like, the flip side world.

[00:51:38] It's, like, a different land. Yeah, it exclusively... So, there's, like... The game does... I think you're in the Mushroom Kingdom for, like... The opening, like, cutscene and then you just get transferred to this world. Where Bowser tries to marry Princess Peach for the nth time. That opening is so bizarre. Like, I love it, but it just shows, like, you jump into it and you're like, what? What is happening? Because, like, Peach and Bowser are in the middle of a wedding. Luigi's there and Luigi is, like...

[00:52:07] This is the weirdest Luigi game. Because, like, he is, like... A, he talks. But he's also, like... Not Luigi in the slightest. Like, he's super heroic. Like, has, like, courage. And, like... Isn't afraid. It's just weird. Like, it's so oddly out of character for him. Especially because this is the same Luigi from Thousand Years Door. Who was going on his adventures in the Waffle Kingdom. And constantly fucking everything up. Yeah. But, um... Yeah, it starts there.

[00:52:35] And then the whole game takes place in Flipside. And Flipside is interesting to me. Like, I really like this area. Hmm. I love the character designs in this game, too. Like, I feel like they really... They went with something very different. Um... Which is always a risk take. Because, like, you don't see, like... Goombas. You don't see, like... I mean, you see some of them. But, like, you don't see those traditional Mario-looking characters. It is very unique. But... Yeah.

[00:53:05] I think it works with the whole, like... This is the Flipside universe. It's different. And then Flipside has its own parallel side. Because you eventually run out of levels on... On, um... You run out of places to put the pure hearts to unlock new levels. And you're like, well, how do we find more? Oh, we have to go to Flopside. It's a reverse world on the other side. Which is just... I love how the goofiness and, like... How bizarre they go and stuff like that. Because it's just... It's really fun.

[00:53:34] This game also has one of my favorite But Thou Must moments. Because you can... When you start the game, you talk to Merlin. Who's kind of, like, your sage character. Like, guide at the start. And he'll request Mario to help during the journey. And you can just keep saying no. And he'll get, like, very, like... Dramatic, like, upset. And then eventually it'll get to a form where he's like... Alright, if you insist... Insist. And then we'll just cut to a game over. Just end right there.

[00:54:05] That's the good old... I feel like, too. That's very much the spirit of the Paper Mario series. Just some of those gimmicks and stuff. Yeah. Which makes this game's follow-up even more... Also, you haven't mentioned one of the main characters yet. But... Tippi! Oh, yeah. The butterfly. Tippi. The pixie. The pixies. No, I'm sorry. The pixies. No, they're pixels. The pixels. Oh, yeah. Because this game... This game was different. Because this game...

[00:54:33] Rather than doing the party members from the first two games... You still have them. Because in this game, you've got multiple playable characters. Yes. But as a contrast for the party members with their abilities, you get this array of pixels. All with their own different abilities that Mario can use. And one of them... The first one is Tippi, who is a butterfly that follows you around. And basically, her gimmick is... It's the only Wii gimmick in this game. Because this game... Yeah.

[00:55:03] It's very apparent when you play this game that this was a GameCube game that was hastily moved over to Wii. Yeah. The only Wii integration is if you point the Wiimote... Because the game is played with the Wiimote on its side, which is fine. It works. It's a 2D platform. You move the Wiimote facing the screen. And then you get a little pointer. And you can use it to find secret items or like... Well, my screen just flashed. Oh. That was weird. We're good.

[00:55:34] But you can find secret items. Or you can get status on enemies and stuff. It's essentially the Goombela or Goombario thing from the first two games. But Tippi would have been in the game regardless. Yes. Without the gimmick or not. Because her character is really important to the story. The gimmick also probably still would have been there in the GameCube version. It just would have probably been different how it worked. Yes.

[00:56:04] But... So going through that, we also get the villains. And the one thing I love about the Mario RPGs in particular is they make super compelling villains. Like, I love Count Black. I love his little assistant. And I love his little minions. The minions are so likable. Oh-chokes? Oh-chokes. I love Oh-chokes. Or his one... When he becomes a vegetable, he becomes Oh-cabbage. Yes. Oh, yep. Oh-cabbage. Um, there's also Mimi. The most horrifying thing in this game.

[00:56:34] Oh my god. I remember when, like, you first fought Mimi. And, like, I remember being genuinely like, what the fuck? Her neck breaks. Her neck breaks. It is so disturbing. She becomes a spider abomination. And she's also, like, keeping people for slave labor. Yeah. Yeah, that... We'll get into the levels a bit more because this game is really... The thing I love about this game, too, is despite being... Some people claim it's repetitive, which it can be to a degree, but the levels are so fucking unique. Hmm. Um... I mean, this game has a dating sim in it at one point, so...

[00:57:03] We'll get to that level. There's a whole lot to say about that level. Um... There's Mimi, and then there's, uh, Dementio, who, uh... If you notice right from the start, you're like, this guy is gonna be more important later. Yes. Um... And then my favorite villain who appears later. Mr. L. Yeah. Mr. L! He's totally brainwashed. Mm-hmm. That was... So, for those who don't know, Mr. L is...

[00:57:30] At one point, Luigi gets kidnapped by the villains and gets brainwashed into this villainous Mr. L. And the joke everyone has is that he's not brainwashed. This is just Luigi being... Showing his true feelings. Yep. But he's... Luigi's finally been like, I'm gonna kick Mario's ass instead. I love Mr. L. Mr. L is, like, one of the... This was, like, the end of Nintendo being fun. Like, I swear with Mario games.

[00:57:58] Because, like, after this, like, aside from, like, Bowser's Inside Story and, like, the Mario & Luigi series, which kind of kept its identity, Nintendo just gave up on, like, making these games fun. Like, even Mario Galaxy. Like, Galaxy 1 had such a fun story. Like, as simple as it was. It was super fun. And then after, there was, like, no story. We don't need that crap. And I'm like... It's just, like, a... You just sigh. But, like, this game is... But sometimes they've brought the fun back. Because, I mean, like... They've gotten better. Like, Odyssey was pretty fun. Odyssey was a very fun game.

[00:58:30] And very quirky. And I will say, the Origami King, the most recent Paper Mario, it did bring a lot back. Like, the Mario & Luigi games are still very fun. And the Mario RPG remake. That was phenomenal. That being said, though. Back to this game. So, we had mentioned the levels. The levels in this game are super interesting.

[00:58:58] Like, the first level is pretty generic. It's just a typical green Mario Land. Yeah. Get you started. Yeah. Like, there is, like, a fun little gimmick where, like, you have to, like, get these bridges erected. Because, like, they're not, like, made. And, like, the two people that can activate the bridges are, like, these Mario and Luigi XBs. And if you talk to the red one, you ask him what your favorite color is.

[00:59:26] And you say red. And, of course, he's like, oh, yeah, red is great. You know, he'll set the bridge up for you. But then you get to the green bridge. And you set that one up. And because you're playing as Mario, the green guy will ask you which color is superior. So, you think it's a trick question. If you say red, he'll just kick you out. Because he'll get angry. Yeah. If you say green trying to be clever, he'll be like, you're wearing red, you liar. He'll kick you out anyways. So, it's just one of those funny things.

[00:59:54] But then, spoiler warning, you do eventually get to play as Luigi in the game. If you go back to that guy later and talk to him as Luigi, he's all like, us greens gotta stick together. Which is just really funny. It's cute stuff like that. But the second level is where shit gets really fascinating. Because, like, there's a straight up section of the second level where you break a vase and Mimi decides to keep you as a slave.

[01:00:22] Well, you're in Merli's mansion. So, you already know you're like, huh, her name's Mimi. This is Merlin. What's going on? Well, Mimi's a maid at first. That's why you're, um, that's why you just, you kind of are confused at first. But basically, you get put to work. And this, this is a gimmick that is really interesting. Because if you don't, if you're a child who can't read, which we kind of were at the time.

[01:00:50] Because, oh, Stephanie, we were still, I'm just getting to middle school. So, you were still in elementary school. Nope. Could read, but not very well. And we also didn't have the patience for it. Yeah. And there, this level is very dialogue heavy. Because, basically, when you break the vase, you have to make a certain amount of rubies to be allowed to continue. And, basically, your way of doing that is you've got to generate power for the mansion.

[01:01:19] And by doing that, it's basically, you have to jump up and down repeatedly to hit this block. But there's, like, a spark going around the conveyor belt. And you have to dodge the spark. Because if you hit the spark, you'll get knocked off. And you'll mess up your rhythm. Yep. And it's to promote you from, it's to make you work harder. It's a motivational spark. Yeah. Yeah, they literally call it that, which is really funny. Oh, they do? It's called the motivational spark.

[01:01:49] But, like, you do that and you realize this is going to take forever. Because it's, like, 30,000 rubies or something crazy. You find out, though, you have to make a certain amount of rubies. Because then you can talk to, if you talk to all the people in, like, the break room, there's a guy in there who will sell you the passcode for the VIP room. And when you get to the VIP room. You make a lot more rubies faster. You make rubies a lot faster.

[01:02:15] Because instead of a, instead of jumping up and down, you instead just get in a giant hamster wheel and just hold left. And you make a lot, you make rubies basically a lot faster. And you can technically game it. Because I did do this once when we were kids. Because I didn't realize how you were supposed to beat this level initially. I thought, all right, this is going to take forever. So I literally did the old, the plier trick. And, like, locked the Wii constantly running right. And then I think we had, like, dinner. And then I came back down. I made so many rubies.

[01:02:44] But then I found out, like, the game, I don't think, like, accounts for that. So it, like, doesn't want you to win that way. So I was like, what do I do? What you're supposed to do is you find there's another guy selling information secretly in the flip world. Because you have to flip to find certain people. And then he tells you the passcode to Mimi's vault, which has the exact number of rubies you need to beat to finish the level. But it's just such an interesting idea. Because it's like this, most of the levels are pretty much platformers. This one's really not.

[01:03:13] This is like you're in, like, one area pretty much the whole time. Yeah. And then you fight the abomination that is Spider Mimi. Mimi. Very cursed. Although I will say... You save Marlee. You do. In the funniest way. Because when you find her, she's in a toilet. Yes. And the best way... Well, that's the thing. The way you figure out... Because there's, like, a whole game show thing where you have to figure out... Oh, you have to figure out which one's her because Mimi can disguise herself. Yep. Yeah, no, Murly. Murly.

[01:03:42] Which one's the real Murly? The way you find it out is so fucking funny. Because it's literally... A fly. There's, like, a fly because she's been in the toilet. She's stinky! Like, you have to pay attention. That's how you figure it out. It's just... It's little things like that where I'm like, this game was so thought out. And I just love it. The third level, though, is the one that this game is most well known for. The Bitlands! The Bitlands, which is, like, super old school. And Luigi... Not Luigi.

[01:04:13] Oh, yeah, you get Peach by this point, too. Yes. And Peach is fun to play with because, like, you actually... A, she does stuff. Mm-hmm. She's got this fun, like, hover ability and she can, like, shield herself with her parasol. Mm-hmm. And it's just Peach doing stuff, which is always fun. Mm-hmm. You get her. And then this third level is interesting because... Uh, Tippi gets captured by this chameleon fellow. Yes.

[01:04:43] And this guy... This guy is amazing because he's literally a fandom nerd. Mm-hmm. And it's, like, so on the nose. Like, they are so deliberate. They were... They were making fun of people. We'll just be honest. And, like, deserved. Yeah. And, I mean, it appeals... Some of his things do appeal to, like, even us to a degree. And even I think it's funny. I'm just, like... That's just funny. Like... Yeah. Like, he...

[01:05:09] There's an entire, like, dating game quiz show thing that you have to go. And the questions are so on the nose. Like, it's so fucking funny. Yeah. That whole level's great. In a lot of ways. That one is a little difficult, though. Because you lose a Tippi right at the start. Mm-hmm. And you don't have her. So you can't, like, do the wand stuff for the entire level. Um... What's interesting, though, is they do... You do actually, uh... Because this is...

[01:05:39] I won't spoil the story, but you do... Once the game finishes, you do lose Tippi. Like, permanently. Yes. Um... You can get a replacement from Francis, the, uh... The, uh... The chameleon guy. He made a robot replica, and you could buy it from him. So you get, like, Tiptron, Robo-Tippi. Um... Just to get the little wand thing back, which is fun. Yeah. Um... The fourth level was in space, right? Yes. The fourth level was outer space with, uh, squirps.

[01:06:10] Yeah, squirps. I love squirps. Squirps! That's another sad level, too. Because, like, the whole time he's, like, looking for his parents. And then you get to his parents, and you find out they've been dead the whole time. Yeah. And he knew that. He knew the whole time. He just wanted you guys to be his friend and find the statue, which is really sad. It was really sad. That was just... Fucking, like, heart-wrenching. Like, why is this game so deep? Um... I... Yeah, that's the thing. It just puts you through these emotional, like, turmoil.

[01:06:40] And you're just, like... Oh, and I think, too, like, at that point... Like, one thing we haven't mentioned is that, like, throughout the game, like, Tiptie keeps, like, having these moments where she's, like... She's, like, remembering her past. It's implied... Like, they don't specifically say it, but there is, like, an implication that she's lost her memories. Yeah, it's kind of brought up that she wasn't originally a pixel. Like... Yes. She was made into one. But, um...

[01:07:07] And at the end of this level, she actually faints. Yeah, and there's a huge, like, moment of this. Because then the next level they go to is... The, like... The past area, I believe. Mm-hmm. The frag... The fragnons. Yeah. That's fun. Uh, this level's pretty fun. We get Bowser by this point, I believe. Mm-hmm. And playing as Bowser is just really fun, because it's basically... It's those side-scrolling levels from Thousand Year Door, but, like... More expansive.

[01:07:36] Mm-hmm. Well, and this one's fun, too, because, like, the... The fragnons people are... Ah! What? It just started playing. Oh. It sounded like you fell down a manhole. Like, I was like, where'd you go? No, it's... No, it's scary... Wait, could you hear... Ah! Alex got kidnapped by the... Alex got kidnapped by the fragnors. I did. Um... But, like, they're being basically brain...

[01:08:06] Mind-controlled with... Yeah. Um... Those little sprouts. Yes, from the plant people, and you have to fight the plant people. In Ochoc. Oh, yeah. In Ochabbage. Ochabbage, yes. He farts, too. But I think the main boss is, uh... The main boss of this one is, like, that, like, flower... Like, multi-faced flower thing. Yes. Now, the, uh... The next level, I believe, is... The samurai one. The samurai...

[01:08:35] Which you never actually finish. You do. Kind of. Kind of. Not the first time. So this level is interesting. This level is basically like the, uh... It's kind of like the wrestling stage from, um... Like, the wrestling tournament from Thousand Year Door. Where it's essentially, you have to defeat... You have to defeat the, uh... The king's, like... It's like his hundred knights, I believe. Ooh! Yep. And, uh... It's essentially one of those where you just go from left to right to get the pure heart.

[01:09:05] Um... And you just keep going down. You fight each one. And it's just... It's basically a series of fights. But I notice in the background the void. Like, because there's this whole looming void that's kind of destroying all of reality. Wait, did you hear that? Not really. Did you hear him sniffing the mic? Ah! What? Triple A's back! Sorry. I gotta mute the tab. I have too many things happening. Okay, there we go. Alright, that won't at least stop. I hate Triple A!

[01:09:36] Yeah, I know. We won't get into that. But, um... Because I think we already did. But, um... Yeah, you... I have a buggy. That void in the background keeps getting bigger throughout the game. And it's like a whole, like, thing where they're like... The void is destroying reality. And when they get to the Shemar kingdom, I think it's called. Or Samar kingdom. Samars. Yeah, like Samarai. Ha ha ha. Ha ha. Um, it's... They note that it's massive already. And it's kind of like, this place is done.

[01:10:05] You gotta fucking hurry. This place is not gonna make it. No. And basically you keep going. And eventually you get to a point where, like... Uh, I think it's Mimi shows up and, like, you have to fight her again. But because you waste so much time there, you basically run out of time. And the whole kingdom gets, like, basically just, like... You get booted out of the level because the place gets destroyed. Yes. And you can go back in and it's just straight up a void of nothing. Yeah. Like, everything in there.

[01:10:35] And that's where you find the pure heart. But it's, like, fossilized and it's no longer usable. Yeah. But, um, what's crazy, though, is you can go back there after the game. Because once the game's over, they restore it. And, uh, you can actually do the challenge. And if you want, you can fight all the knights. Just for... For... Say you did. So that's a thing. Yeah. Is there, like, a pixie at the end you get? Or... Because there is unlockable pixies as well. I don't think one of the unlockables comes from there.

[01:11:04] I think you just get, like, a... Like, some sort of bonus award. It's nothing... I think it's, like, cards. I think you actually get trading cards. It's playable cards. Oh. But, um... Yeah. That's an interesting concept for a level two. And I think after this is where they get sent to the underwear. Yes, it is. Chapter seven's the underwear. And the craziest part about that is... Because this is also where, um... Dementio betrays Luigi. Mm-hmm.

[01:11:33] Because that's how Luigi rejoins your party. At this point, because he's the fourth party member after Peach and Bowser. Yep. What's amazing about this, though, is how they get to the... Because the underwear is basically, like, hell. Kind of. When you think about it. The way the Mario... Everyone gets there is... Dementio straight up just murders you. Yeah. He puts you in bomb boxes and then you just all get murdered and sent down to the underwear. We did. It's...

[01:12:03] It's played for laughs, but it's, like, that's dark. Like... Yep. Uh, the underwear is interesting, though, because you start down there and you have to make your way up to heaven, basically. Well, and you have to find everyone along the way. Hmm. Because you also have to get the pure heart restored as well from the previous state. Um... Oh, no, no. You get that restored before, because the stuff that happens... Yeah, I thought you were... You do that with, like, Merlin's help or something. Yeah, that's what it was. Or I think it's... I think it's Norrealm.

[01:12:32] His counterpart. Over in Blopside. I think you... You restore it, and then that's when Dementio shows up. Yes, that makes more sense. Um... But, yeah, so... This level is the one with, like, the really traumatic story stuff. Oh, wait, no! Just kidding. They... They go to his house, and then Dementio shows up, kills them, and then the underwear is when they say they'll revive it.

[01:13:00] Right, because there's that revitalizing fountain that you can jump in to fully restore yourself. Yes. Yeah, the underwear is very dark, though, because, like, that's just where, like, the whole thing is that you're like, like, the pure heart thing, and it's, like, it's really heart-wrenching, and you're just like, this is sad. Hmm. She's fun, too, because she joins your party for a while, and, like, just kind of chills. You have this line. Yeah, like squirps. I love squirps.

[01:13:30] Um... And then after that, I believe, is the... You finally get to, uh, Count Black's castle. Yes. What's funny, though, is, like, before that, um... There are these little interlude, like, when you're... Like, when Pete... Right before Peach joins your party, you play this little interlude as her, and she's, like, being escorted by, like, these two Koopas. Oh, yeah, in Count Black's castle. Yep. And it's implied that, like, during that, Dementio is the one that gets her sent back

[01:13:58] to the Mario Brothers, because he's playing the strings in the background the whole time. Yes. But there's a little... It's pretty obvious from the beginning that, like, all right, he's also... He has his own ambitions. Yeah. Um... But then there's also, um... Towards the end, there's also, um... Brain farting. Oh, yeah, you also... There's also a Luigi interlude. And that one, like, he's... He's being guided by these two Goombas, and the Goombas throw him under the bus so fast.

[01:14:28] At the end, because one of them gets turned evil, and then the other one's like, Fuck you, I'm just gonna join the winning side. And then Luigi gets brainwashed. Yep. Brainwashed. Totally. Um... So then the final... He wanted his chance to shine. Yeah. The, uh, the final area, though, is Count Black's castle, and this is definitely the most intense, but we get the whole reveal at the end, where once reality is basically starting to fall apart,

[01:14:59] and we find out that Count Black was actually the guy at the start reading the book. Yep. Count, like, Blumiere, I think his name was... Some, like, thing. Yes. And he was in love with a lady named Lady Timpani. Yes. Hmm. Hmm. Tiff and Timpani. Sounds familiar. Tippi? Tiff and Timpani? Yes.

[01:15:23] We find out that she got exiled, and by being sent through time, she was so deathly ill that she had to be turned into a pixel to survive. And, uh, Count Black was so distraught that he became the villainous Count Black and started his, like, his, uh, revenge plot. Yes, to destroy the world. Yes. Um, but, because once you get to the end, though, we find out... Shock!

[01:15:50] Dementio was playing behind the scenes the whole time? What? How could we have not seen this coming? Well, we find out that he's actually, like, been planning this huge thing to steal the Dark Heart. Yeah. Um, the Chaos Heart. And fuse it with Luigi. Yeah. Because the final boss is this abomination mixture of... Yeah. It's Luigi, the Chaos Heart, and Dementio.

[01:16:18] And it's, like, this insane abomination, like, that you fight against. And I'm just like, damn, they were... And that means you can't use Luigi in the final battle. You don't need him. You just... Bowser's fine. Bowser can... Bowser's, like... This game, you can break in half if you combine... Super Dementio. Super Dementio, yep. Uh, you can... This game, I... It's very easy to break. Like, Chugger Conroy and his playthrough basically showcase that you can beat most of this game by using Bowser and, uh, the carry platform pixel. And then just...

[01:16:47] Because just using Bowser's improved strength that just demolish everything. Yep. Which is really fun. Because Bowser's, like, super useful. They're all useful in their own ways. But, uh, you beat the game, and then, uh... It's implied that, uh... Uh, Tippi and Count Black got to live happily ever. After. In dead land. Well, the end of the credits shows them on a medley field, so we don't know if they died or if they, uh... It doesn't ever show what they actually look like, though, right?

[01:17:17] You only see the silhouettes. Like, Count Black pretty much looks the same. Uh, you see a silhouette of a woman, though, standing next to him. No, no, no, no, no. Don't do that. Don't... Oh, my God. What did you do? Oh, my God. Okay, I gotta... He's choking himself on my headphones. Jesus Christ. Okay. Oh, cats. Give me a second. Why the hell would you do that? You dumbass!

[01:17:52] Oh, my God. I gotta figure out how to plug this back in. I'm not kidding. He wrapped it around his neck and then wrapped it around his arm and was actively choking himself. I can't hear you, though. I gotta figure out how to plug this back in. Oh, owning cats is great, isn't it? Oh, my God. Can you hear me now? Yeah. Why the hell would you do... I'm not kidding. He, like, had it... Wrapped it around his neck and then wrapped it around his paw. So it was like... So he's choking himself out.

[01:18:22] Like, I'm like, why the fuck are you doing that? He's not the brightest bulb, unfortunately. I love him, but he is... I thought Poopy was dumb. No. This boy is dumb. They're dumb in different ways. This boy is... He's so cute, but he's so stupid. Yes, he is. Aw, but he's purring. He's like, thanks for saving me, Mommy, so I don't choke. I'll do it again to show your love. Yeah.

[01:18:51] Clearly. Oh. Sorry about that. I'm just like... Can you not? Can you not try to choke yourself out today? Thank you. Yeah. The game ends on... No. The game ends on a pretty happy note, though. All things considered, the world is saved. Those two got to essentially live happily ever after. But Peach and Bowser didn't get married. Stop jokingly. No, they were... Alex.

[01:19:20] They were waiting for Mario Odyssey. Ah, yes. And like the three other times they've done this. It wasn't the right time. What's cool, though, is you can actually find a bunch of like... Obviously, Dementio's dead, but you can find... Stop it! Sorry, he's chewing on the cord, so I have to hold it. You can find O-Chunks just kind of chilling in a flip side. Yeah. And he implies that he really wants to go...

[01:19:48] It's implied that he has a thing for Nastasha or Nastiasha, whatever. Complex assistant? His assistant, yes. Because you can find her on flop side. Nastasia. You can find her chilling in flop side in like the same spot as where O-Chunks is. They're just kind of hanging out. Mimi has just taken over Marley's mansion. Not because Marley doesn't give a shit. She's doing her fortune teller thing now. She's like, I'm over it. You can have it. I was in a toilet there.

[01:20:17] What's funny, though, is you visit Mimi. She's in the fancy dress now. She's like, this is my mansion now. And she's like, I've made all the criminals my people. And they're all just like, they just live there now. It's funny. So they all ended up in a good place. There's some bonus stuff afterwards. You can go do the Samra Kingdom if you want. You can. There's like the pit of a thousand trials. And then the other pit of a thousand trials. Where you can get a whole bunch of bonus. I think you get the.

[01:20:46] There's like the three bonus pixels you can find around that do different things. It's not like. None of them are necessary to beat the game. But they're just nice to have. Like there's. I think. Well, there's. Barry. Yes. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Barry's the most interesting one. Because he is the easiest one to find. He's the. The spiky circle one. Yes. You basically. You find him in a bush.

[01:21:16] During. The third level of the game. Because he's the one that's like. Oh, yeah. When Tiffy gets kidnapped by. Francis. He's like. Oh, yeah. That's where. She went. If you talk to him again. After. Beating that level. If you talk to him a few times. He'll just join your party. So you get him there. Yeah. Who is the second one? Dashiell. Dashiell. He was in the pit of a thousand trials. Yep. The first. And he. Gives you the ability to dash. Yep. You get to go fast.

[01:21:46] Basically, you have him on. You have him on all the time. When you're just exploring around. Like when you're going through flop side. Or flip side. You just. Have him on. Because you got to move. And then there's the. The music one. Piccolo. I forget how you get him. How is it? Uh. He's in flop side. Yes. He. Using. Uh. She is obtained by complete. Completing a side quest for Merle. After chapter five. Right. I remember.

[01:22:16] Yep. And. So. They can. Uh. Change. They can cure Mario. And his team. For any status effects. Yes. And they can also break blocks. As well. Yes. Yeah. They're. They're fun. They're not necessary. They're not necessary. They're not necessary. They're not necessary to beat the game. But they are very. Convenient. To say the least. And Tiptron. Oh. And Tiptron. Yep. Uh. Tiptron is just there. So you can get your pointer back.

[01:22:46] And it feels less. Empty. I will say though. If you talk. What's really sad though. If you talk to Merlin. After getting Tiptron. He actually does get like. Kind of sad. Because he'll see it. And be like. Oh yeah. But he knows that Tiptron. He's living happily ever after now. It's funny. Because I looked up to see. Um. That like. Outline. Like that shadow. That you were talking about. Yeah. There was like.

[01:23:15] Was there like a little manga? It might have been. Or like a book. It might be a fan thing. It's hard. I don't know. Actually. Japan maybe. I think that might have been. Because like. I'm seeing like an actual picture. Of their like. Silhouette. And it looks like. It's from like a manga. Um. But it's funny to see like. The fan art people did. Of like. Their interpretations. Of what they thought. She would look like. Because you never actually do see her. But honestly. I love when stories do that. Because sometimes.

[01:23:44] That just shows. Like the story was so compelling. They're like. You didn't need to know. What she looked like. As a human. Like. Oh. You good? He's jumped out. I also. No. The other thing I do like too. Is that the game. Wraps itself up. Like perfectly. Like there's no loose ends. Yeah. And. Once. You do. Yeah. The game wraps itself up. Perfectly. No loose ends. And then. You basically just. Go back to the Mushroom Kingdom. And that's. Everything's.

[01:24:14] They can do the next game. Without having to. No loose ends. To worry about. There is a. A nice little bonus though. I believe in. The Mario. Mario and Luigi's house. There's. If. I think it's either. At the start of the game. Or right at the end. There is a quick zoom in. Of a picture frame. And in the picture frame. It has all the party members. From. The first game. And the second game. All together. Which is really fun. There was a manga. Adaptation. For Super Paper Mario.

[01:24:43] Interesting. Assuming it was only Japan. And that's a fan translation. Yes. Are you getting attacked. By AAA again? No. I'm getting attacked. By Bubby A. Oh Bubber. Okay. But um. Yeah. Super Mario. Oh wait. Maybe. Has 10. Super Mario. Coon. Manga. Has 10 volumes. For the Paper Mario games. Oh. And in it. It covers.

[01:25:13] Don't you have that? No. No. I have Mario Mania. Which is a completely. Unrelated thing. Yeah. So. Apparently. Super Mario. Coon. Which looks like it was. Mostly Japan. Apparently. It does have. I'm assuming it was. 10 volumes. That. Um. Yeah. It looks like. Uh. Japan. Oh. That's fine. It came out in Japan. The first volume. Came out in Japan. In 1991. And.

[01:25:43] It was. Uh. It came out in France. In 2014. And in Spain. In 2016. And nowhere else. That's the only ones you can. So. Any of those pictures I saw. Are probably just like. A picture that doesn't really have any text. Or. Or a fan translation. Yeah. I didn't see any text. So. I'm assuming it's just a picture. But. I'll have to go on Manga Dex later. And just see. Yeah. Because let me see. Oh. It covers Mario Party. Cool. Oh yeah. So. Paper Mario Arc.

[01:26:12] Starts at. Um. Volume 25. I think. Yeah. Volume 25. And then. Volumes 25. 26. And 27. Are the original Paper Mario. Then we have. Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door. Which is covered in. 32. 33. 34. 35. Yep. Oh. It also does Mario and Leisure Partners in Time. Oh.

[01:26:42] Interesting. That was the one with the. The aliens. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. That one was. It looks like that was only translated. That. 30. Volume 35. Was only translated. In. France. In 2025. Interesting. I'll have to see if Manga Dex has translations up. That'd be kind of fun to look at.

[01:27:10] I wonder if it's as bizarre and unhinged as the Pokemon manga. There's 61 volumes. Damn. It does cover the Origami King as well. Wow. Still going. Odyssey. Odyssey. 3D World. Movie Bowser's Inside Story. Yep. Bowser's Inside Story. Galaxy. That's bizarre. I didn't even realize that was a thing. That's interesting. I didn't either. Well, it's just I saw that photo and I was like.

[01:27:40] Because I saw that photo of the. Of Timpani. And there's like a little. It's just their silhouettes. But it's them in their happily ever after. Nice. Yeah. Super Paper Mario that was such a. It's a shame that like. This game had such a weird stigma when it first came out. Because it was so different. Because like looking back on it. It was such a cool game. Arguably the best. Story.

[01:28:09] I still say it's the best story in a Mario game. Yeah. Because it's so. It's dark. But it's also compelling and emotional. And funny. And funny. Well, that is one thing too. I think like. Is this game. Though it changed a lot. I think it did keep that nice. Storytelling. That people love about the Paper Mario series. See, people. Change their tune on this game really quick. When Sticker Star came out. And had literally no story. Yep. RPG with no story.

[01:28:39] And no RPG mechanics. And it was. Yeah. That was going to work out great. That's all I can say. It's crazy how that. Like. They just like. Like. Just. Took a great series. Shit on it. Like. Yeah. And it took like two games to get back to somewhat okay. Because Origami King was okay. There was a Thousand Year Door remake? Yeah. And a Switch. It's pretty good. It's pretty good. Maybe I'll grab it.

[01:29:08] There's also the Mario RPG remake. Which is also really good. And Origami King was apparently pretty good too. Right? It's a step in the right direction. Art style wise. It's fucking beautiful. The gameplay still needs work. But it's getting better. All right. Maybe I'll give a Thousand Year Door a try. At some point. But. Yeah. That being said though. I think this is good enough time to wrap it up.

[01:29:38] Oh. What kind of wrapping paper? Once again guys. Minions? Thank you for joining us on. Wait. What kind of wrapping paper? You said we're wrapping this up. Stripes. The classic. With minions? Plaid. Wrap every present plaid. No. Minion. Minion. Minion. Also I love that Psyduck is back there. And he looks like he's like struggling for help. He's like help me. He's happy. I'm trying to find a position where my back doesn't fucking hurt.

[01:30:07] Well let me wrap this up. So you can. Hurry up. My back hurts so I can lay down. And not move. Once again guys. Thank you for joining us on the Gaming Collecting Podcast. You can find the Gaming Collecting Podcast. All the major podcasting platforms. I want my bullet back. And be sure to check us out on the Superpod Network. Superpodnetwork.com. Awesome site. All sorts of different. I want my bullet back.

[01:30:42] You're like hurry it up and then you're just stretching it out as long as you can. That kind of felt better doing that. So. Well. Sing it one time with me Bill. No. You can find us on the Superpod Network. I want my bullet back. Billy Wright's hours. Hi Miley. Can I have some money please? I want. Very cute. I don't fucking care. Don't break my heart. My achy breaky heart.

[01:31:13] If I could screw Megadeth out of a number one record. I'm kidding. Anyways. You can check us out on the Superpod Network. Awesome site. Where you can find all sorts of different videos. Blogs. I love when I just like completely throw you off. It's like my goal. The best one is when you really had to pee. And like you were like. You need to end it. I have to pee bad. And then you wouldn't stop stretching it. I'm like Alex. Logic. I don't know what that means. Anyways guys.

[01:31:42] Once again. Thank you for joining us. So we can see you all later. I want my moment back.