Paper Mario: The Thousand‐Year Door (GameCube) - RetroAchievements/guides GitHub Wiki

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Guide by Paradise1

1) Synopsis
Set Difficulty 3/10 to beat, 5/10 to master
Approximate time to master 25-30 hours
Minimum numbers of playthroughs needed 1
Number of missable achievements 28
Does difficulty affect achievements? Not applicable
Hardest achievement of the set I Like That Jump!

2) Introduction

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a classic turn-based RPG developed by Intelligent Systems for the Gamecube featuring simple yet addictive gameplay, charming visuals, and unforgettable characters and setting. The sequel to Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64, TTYD polishes and perfects the mechanics introduced in that game, including simple inputs that increase your damage called Action Commands, a highly customizable Badge system that lets you tailor Mario's attacks and bonuses to your liking, and a group of Partners who unlock overworld abilities and powerful battle techniques. The game is on the easy side as RPGs go, but the iconic Badge system leaves plenty of room for experimenting, strategizing, and for players of all skill levels to challenge themselves. Fearing stagnation in the series, following TTYD's release Nintendo decided to take the Paper Mario series in new directions, for better or worse. But to those who grew up with the Gamecube, TTYD remains the peak of the series, and probably the Mario RPG series as a whole (and possibly the Mario series as a whole, although that's more debatable). If you have any doubt as to how iconic this game is, just look at the effect the first three seconds of the intro have on a whole generation of Nintendo streamers (and it had about the same effect on me).

This set, developed by LogicalFallacy and ilikepie345, contains 123 achievements, worth 1000 points and covers nearly every aspect of the game. There are achievements for progression, 100% completion (badges, recipes, tattles, troubles, collecting every item in the overworld), as well as unique (missable) challenges for many boss fights in the game that will have players trying out unique playstyles or challenges. There are achievements for obscure interactions that even veteran players may not have seen, like the secret Glitz Pit fight or destroying the fire bars in the Palace of Shadow. Overall, it is a very well-rounded set that isn't too challenging (with perhaps one or two notable exceptions).

I've written this guide to be thorough (maybe a little too thorough in some parts) and friendly to new players. I don't have a beat-by-beat walkthrough of the story, but the game is simple enough that you probably don't need one. The Story section of this guide is structured so that you can follow along as you're doing the story and make sure you don't miss out on any achievements. Many achievements will have tips about items you can grab or preparations you can make at that point in the story, even if it's not directly related to the achievement itself. I've also placed some achievements out of order if it's convenient to get them at a certain point, or if they become available to be completed. That being said, feel free to look at individual achievements instead if you don't feel like following the guide step-by-step, but you might need to Ctrl-F - like I said, some are out of order. I've written this guide with a combination of memory, research, and testing, but it's very possible that I got something wrong. Please, let me know if you have any suggestions or corrections to make.

3) General Tips / Strategy

  • This set contains quite a few missable achievements, so be careful if you're aiming to master the set. Be especially careful with A Pirate uses his Sword, which requires you to buy a badge BEFORE LEAVING FOR CHAPTER 5, and with Thousand Year Old Treasures, which comes very close to the end of the game, and is very easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. If you end up missing an achievement and overwriting your save file, unfortunately your only recourse is to start a new game.

  • It might be worth playing the European release instead of the USA release. The European release is able to switch between 50hz and 60Hz, and the 50Hz setting makes an achievement that requires several frame perfect inputs in a row just that much easier, and the ability to switch to 60hz means there are no drawbacks in other areas of the game.

  • Coin management is ultimately not a problem by the end game, as you will likely have more coins than you know what to do with. However, in order to avoid missing achievements, you will need to have 300 coins before finishing the intro to Chapter 4, and 180 coins before finishing the intro to Chapter 5. So don't go on too much of a spending spree during the early game.

  • If you don't know what stat to choose when leveling up, BP is usually a good option. Throughout the game, you will find several "HP Plus" and "FP Plus" badges which add 5 HP and FP at the cost of 3 BP, meaning a BP level up is equivalent to leveling HP or FP but with added flexibility. That being said, it may be worth leveling HP in the beginning in order to make some early-game achievements easier, and leveling FP not long after, as 5 FP is pretty pitiful. And don't worry about ruining your stats, as you can respec with Chet Rippo (surely a trustworthy guy) in the Rogueport Sewers after Chapter 5.

  • Ms. Mowz is often considered the worst partner in the game. Combat-wise, that might well be true, but her overworld ability is incredibly valuable for completing the "collect all items' achievements. I would recommend getting her as early as possible, and using her ability as often as you can to save a lot of backtracking in the long run.

  • Make sure to save before bosses. Most bosses in this set have an extra challenge as a missable achievement

  • Mario Wiki is a very useful resource for this run. They have detailed enemy data, badge data and, most importantly, detailed data on items and hidden items in each area.

  • This checklist is very useful for keeping track of recipes and what you need to make them. The other tabs may be useful too. When making a copy, make sure you change the folder to your own drive, otherwise it will say you don't have permission.

  • If you haven't played this game before, I think a lot of the fun comes from trying different things and coming up with strategies yourself, but I can give a few pointers if you're completely lost. A good basic strategy is to buff attack through badges or moves like Power Lift (after Chapter 3) and then use Power Bounce and/or Goombella's Multibonk to inflict massive damage. This will get you through most, if not all, boss encounters in the game.

  • As for badges, the beauty of the system is that it is so customizable and you can change things on the fly, so you can tailor your build for specific fights, or go with a general set that does well against everything. I personally like to go with a jump build, including Jumpman, Power Bounce, Multibounce, Power Jump, Spike Shield, and various attack-boosting badges. For jumps, any attack bonus is applied to each individual hit of the jump, meaning you typically get twice the bang for your BP (and meaning that Power Bounce is absolutely bonkers). I'm also partial to the Flower Saver badge, available from Dazzle. -1 FP for each move doesn't sound like much, but there are many moves that cost 2 FP (Power Smash, Multibounce) and many that cost 3 FP (Power Bounce), and effectively cutting their cost in half or by a third is a godsend. Finally, the Quick Change badge, also available from Dazzle, has a steep 7 BP cost, but it is (in my opinion) absolutely worth it. Being able to switch partners without using a turn opens up so many options, like being able to put away an injured partner or bringing out a partner who does well against specific enemies. Of course, this is all my personal opinion - there are infinite viable builds, so feel free to experiment and figure out what works for you.

  • The missable boss challenges may have different ideal (or required) badge setups or strategies. In that case, I will comment on it in the achievement guide.

  • The Peril Strat: If you don't mind cheese, you can use a simple and incredibly effective strategy known as the Peril Strat. To do so, you need two badges, both available by midway through Chapter 1. The first is Mega Rush P, found in Petalburg (after acquiring the Paper Mode upgrade from Hooktail's Castle), which increases your partner's attack by 5 when they are at 1 HP. The Second is Quick Change, available from Dazzle in the Rogueport Sewers for 8 Star Pieces. In order to utilize the strat, you have to first get your partner to 1 HP. To do this, you can either calculate the damage enemies will do and Defend or Guard as needed, or you can let your partner faint and collect a single heart on the overworld. Just make sure you're not carrying a Life Shroom, or your partner will eat that and make you feel really silly. You can also use the Point Swap item when your FP is at 1. Now that your partner is at 1 HP, they will gain a massive 5 attack boost. And the Quick Change badge means they will never be exposed to attack during battle. Simply switch your damaged partner in, have them attack FIRST and then switch them out with Mario before he attacks. Goombella and Yoshi are typically the best partners for this, as (without upgrades) they will go from dealing 1-1 and 1-1-1-1 damage to 6-6 and 6-5-4-3 damage. Add additional boosts from badges like Power Plus P or Power Rush P, the upgraded moves Multibonk and Stampede, and buffs from Power Lift and Power Punch, and you have a recipe for trivializing almost every encounter in the game. The downside is that it can kind of be a pain to maintain your partner at 1 HP. Inns and Heal Blocks are right out, of course, but you also need to watch out for levelups and hearts that spawn after battle. Both of these only affect your active partner, so they can be avoided with careful play. Sometimes the Audience will throw hearts at you as well, so you'll need to mercilessly beat them down if they try to. Overall, the Peril Strat probably makes the game a little too easy, so for the sake of fun I wouldn't recommend using it unless it's clearly the best way to get an annoying achievement (e.g. with the Chapter 3 boss). But it's a good thing to keep in your back pocket to use as a last resort. Or a first resort. I'm not the boss of you.

  • It should be noted that Trials and Tribulations requires you to beat the pit without any Danger-related badges, meaning you cannot use the Peril Strat.

4) Walkthrough

Step 1: Story

This section will focus on going through the story, noting missable achievements along the way. I'll also note some miscellaneous achievements that are convenient to pick up at the same time, or that become available to be completed. Achievements will be arranged in roughly chronological order as you go through the story. I may also provide information not directly related to the achievement if it is useful in an upcoming part.

Missable achievements:

Step 2: Pit of 100 Trials

You can complete the Pit of 100 Trials at any point during or after the story (even during the Prologue, using glitches). Generally speaking, the later through the story you wait to do it, the easier it will be (especially if you're going for Trials and Tribulations).

Some tips about the Pit:

  • You can challenge the Pit as many times as you like, but you can only beat the final boss ONCE. This is why the Trials and Tribulations achievement is missable.
  • Each 10 levels you go in the Pit, you get a reward chest. Several of these rewards are exclusive badges, and the level 50 reward is a key item doubling the size of your inventory. Very useful! Every reward room has a pipe to the entrance to bail out - the only other way to exit is death or victory.
  • Dying in the Pit is a full Game Over. You go back to your last save, with all your progress wasted.
  • It may be worth doing more than one partial run of the pit (in fact, it's required for 100% completion), as the rewards can be very useful outside of it. The Strange Sack on Level 50 is particularly useful, and Fire Drive (Level 20) and Zap Tap (Level 30) are decently useful as well.
  • There are two troubles involving the Pit: one to get to level 20 after Chapter 2, and one to get to Level 50 after beating the game. For that reason alone, it's probably worth saving your full run until after the game so that you don't have to go through half of it again.
  • There are many enemies that only appear in the Pit that are required for the Tattle Log. For the love of God, MAKE SURE that when fighting the Dark Lakitu from floors 61-69 that you tattle him AND the blue spiny that he throws. That one's very easy to miss.
  • The enemies on the later floors (~80-99) can be very nasty. You may not want to spend a turn Tattling them, so what you can do is just Tattle with Goombella and run away with Mario. Depending on your confidence, it might also be worth running away if you don't get a First Strike - every bit helps!
  • Every so often you may find a small guy called the Mover who will move you down 2 floors for 10 coins or 5 floors for 30. This is almost always worth it, especially on the later floors. Just make sure you don't skip past a reward you haven't obtained, or the target of a trouble (floors 18 and 50).

Missable achievement:

  • Trials and Tribulations - Defeat the terror at the bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials without using Special Moves or equipping any Danger-related badges during the entire pit.

Step 3: 100% Completion / Overworld Items

This section will focus on collection achievements, such as collecting all the Tattles, Recipes, Badges, and Troubles. I won't provide a location for each and every item/badge/tattle, but I'll try to provide links to guides for those as well as information on ones that may be particularly tricky to find.

Notes:

  • Tattles are thankfully not missable. Any Tattles of one-time enemies that you miss will be found in Professor Frankly's garbage can.
  • Generally try to get as many items as you can on your first run through, but don't sweat it if you miss some. All necessary areas can be revisited after the game if you need to (with one exception in Chapter 8). What's more, some items can't be collected without certain partners or abilities, so you can't finish some chapters' achievements on your first run anyways.
  • Some items can be found by hitting trees with your hammer or searching bushes. Others can be found by hitting blocks (red blocks are Badges) or hidden blocks. I would try to search every tree and bush on your first pass through to try not to miss anything.
  • There are some Hidden Blocks placed in pretty obtuse locations. BlessedGamer7 shared this video showing all of their locations. I'll also post some images under the relevant achievements, courtesy of the Mario Wiki.
  • Star Pieces count as items, as do badges and Shine Sprites. Coins from trees, bushes, and blocks, hidden or visible, also count as items. Ms. Mowz will be drawn to all of these items for you.
  • An item doesn't count as "picked up" until it enters your inventory. If you don't have room, you can throw the new item away, but it won't count for the achievement. Thankfully, it will respawn in the same spot until it enters your inventory (but once it does, it will no longer respawn even if you throw it away again).
  • I won't list every single item to pick up (this guide is long-winded enough as it is), but I'll link the Mario Wiki pages for each chapter, which includes a list of items found in those areas. Note that this list includes Key Items and items given as rewards for Troubles, which are not typically required for these achievements. Also note that these lists don't typically include coins from trees and bushes, so make sure to check those too. There's also information on Hidden Blocks, which can be very helpful. Do note that on these pages there are some items exclusive to the Switch remake - these will be denoted with a red Switch icon next to the item (or sometimes there will be a whole Switch-exclusive section), so make sure to pay attention or you will be frantically searching for an item that isn't actually there.
  • When running around to get ingredients or finish Troubles, the Bump Attack badge (Floor 80 of the Pit) is very useful.

Missable achievement:

Step 4: Cleanup/Misc

Other achievements will go here, including the Pianta Parlor minigames, the Special Move challenges, and other miscellaneous things that can be done at any time.

Step 1: Story | Total points: 377 

Go Goombas! (1)
Rescue Goombella from the X-Nauts.

He Knows About Timed Hits! (3)
Defeat Crump in only 2 attacks.

To defeat him in only 2 attacks, you will need to successfully hit both of the Action Commands. For new players, the Hammer is probably easier - hold the stick left until the big circle lights up. That will get you to 4 out of 5 damage. The last point of damage comes from a Superguard. To execute the Superguard, press B just as Crump hits you - the timing is pretty tight. If you miss it and you've already done 2 attacks, you can choose Defend under the Tactics menu to try again (the achievement is 2 attacks, not 2 turns). Crump won't be able to hurt you if you're defending, so you can try as many times as you'd like.

Reverse Robbing (3)
Find the Bandit that stole your coins and get them back.

As you enter East Rogueport, a Bandit will come and jack half of your coins. To find him, go back to the main plaza and into the graffiti-covered alley in the back. Once the camera pans around, go left and into a door. You should see the Bandit living in filth - simply talk to him to get your coins back.

Just Plane Cursed (3)
Recieve the awful, horrible curse of being able to transform into a paper airplane.

Story-related, cannot be missed.

You're Just a Spear Carrier (3)
Defeat Gus in Rogueport.

An Early Bird (5)
Defeat Gus before beating the Blooper.

Gus is the spear-carrying bird guarding a door in East Rogueport. He has 20 HP and 3 attack, which is quite a bit for this point in the game. Before fighting him, stop by the Rogueport store and buy a Mushroom and a Honey Syrup. To defeat him, switch Goombella to the front (press Y) and have her Defend (She can't attack him anyway due to the spear). Gus' spear charge will only hit the player in front, and Goombella will be able to take up to 5 hits while defending (10 if you guard at the right time by pressing A). With Mario, whale away with Power Smash and regular hammers, and use Sweet Treat and items to replenish HP and FP as needed. If you're really having trouble, you can give Goombella some Fire Flowers for extra damage (just save some for Blooper).

You can also Tattle with Goombella if you would like, but it's OK if you don't. If you miss a Tattle on a one-time enemy, their Tattle Log entry will be in Professor Frankly's trash can.

Bloop Bloop! (5)
Defeat the Blooper in Rogueport Sewers.

Two for One Sushi Special (5)
Defeat the Blooper in Rogueport Sewers while defeating his tentacles at the same time every time.

To defeat his tentacles at the same time, use Fire Flowers (sold in the Rogueport square store). These will target all enemies, causing Blooper to fall to the ground. Whale away with Power Smash and Headbonk, and he should be done. Bring a second Flower just in case, though.

Knocked down a peg (2)
Receive a Horsetail from a Candy Cane.

On the screen in Petal Meadows right before the bridge (coming from Rogueport) there's a Candy Cane (stripy guy with eyes) that will pop down when you hit it with a hammer. Hit it 10 times to get a Horsetail, which can be used in some recipes.

Brawns over Brains (5)
Fail the 65th Super Fun Quirk Quiz and win the fight afterwards.

Bring an extra POW block (or 2) from Petalburg for this one. Failing this event will summon 4 Clefts. These guys have 2 Defense, so at this point the only way to damage them is items, Power Smash, and Superguards. A POW block will make short work of them.

Guarding for Gold (5)
Defeat the Gold Fuzzy in the Petalburg Sewers without sustaining 3 or more HP worth of damage.

The good news is that the Gold Fuzzy only has 10 HP, so he'll go down in 2 turns if you use Power Smash with Mario and Headbonk with Goombella. The bad news is that he summons a Fuzzy Horde after taking some damage. In order to get through with 2 damage or less, you'll have to guard against most of the attacks by pressing A. The Fuzzy Horde will attack 5 times at full health, and the Gold Fuzzy himself will also attack. Thankfully, both of them just try and bonk you instead of doing the normal Fuzzy attack with the weird timing, so it shouldn't be tooo hard to guard against them. I would recommend focusing on the Gold Fuzzy and skipping the Tattles in order to end the fight quickly (the Horde will disperse when the Gold Fuzzy dies).

One final thing - if you hadn't noticed already, sometimes when you attack, it will bring parts of the stage crashing down on you. This is very common when using Power Smash, so make sure you guard against that too. If you look closely, you can see the background wobbling after the attack, letting you know it's going to fall.

Sensitive Shell (5)
Have Koops join the party!

Story-related, cannot be missed.

Dance of the Deceased (5)
Defeat the Red Bones in Hooktail Castle.

Use Koops' Power Shell to clear out all the Dull Bones, or else you may get overwhelmed by their attacks.

Flat-Out Cursed (3)
Receive the no-good, horrendous curse of being able to turn into Paper.

Story-related, cannot be missed.

While exploring the castle, you will likely find the Attack FX R badge. Equipping it will make the Hooktail fight a lot easier (the game very subtly hints at this). Anyways, make sure you DON"T equip it, because you need to beat Hooktail without it for an achievement.

Also, at some point, you will ride a large green block up. On the left side, you'll be able to see a Life Shroom, a very useful item that revives you at 10 HP when you die. Once you get to the top, just drop off the bridge in the top left corner and use the paper mode to go through the gate. Was I the only kid who tried this part over and over thinking you had to do a Koops trickshot to get it?

The Belly of the Beast (5)
Defeat Hooktail in her castle and obtain the Diamond Star.

Muted Massacre (10)
Defeat Hooktail without utilizing the sound of a cricket.

In order to get the Muted Massacre achievement, you have to beat Hooktail WITHOUT equipping the Attack FX R badge. This can be a little tough, depending on how much you've leveled HP. Hooktail has three attacks that deal 4-5 damage: a stomp that's pretty slow and decently easy to guard, a bite that comes out fast and is hard to guard, and fire breath that targets both party members and pierces defense. What's more, she has 1 defense, meaning that Power Bounce and Goombella will most likely be useless. I would recommend equipping at least HP Plus, Power Smash, and Close Call (might as well), and bringing a couple items for your partner to use (the burn damage from Fire Flowers will help).

Have Mario use Power Smash, and have Koops use items or Shell Toss. Switch positions as necessary. Have Mario use Sweet Treat sooner rather than later, as once Hooktail reaches 0 HP she will eat the audience and you will no longer gain Star Power. With the 4 Stylish opportunities from Power Smash, you should hopefully be able to use it twice throughout the fight. All this combined with the Life Shroom you hopefully picked up earlier should make this fight winnable.

If all else fails, you can unleash the wrath of Peril Goombella (see the General Tips section) if you're willing to backtrack to Rogueport. With an upgrade, you can deal 6-6 to Hooktail with a Headbonk and potentially even more with a Multibonk. This is 100% overkill and I wouldn't recommend it, but the option is there.

If you end up using the Life Shroom, it might be worth reloading your save to beat Hooktail with the badge to save it for later.

She'll Blow You Away (5)
Have Madame Flurrie join the party!

Story-related, can't be missed.

A Super Upgrade Is Afoot (5)
Obtain the Super Boots.

Story-related, can't be missed. This upgrade allows you to begin collecting Star Pieces from panels in the ground.

What's the Rabble, Jabble? (2)
Recruit Jabble into your ranks.

Jabble is found in the Secret Shop inside the Great Tree. You can find the Secret Shop in the room with the zig-zag path and the Piders by dropping to the floor, going all the way to the left and blowing away a paper with Flurrie. Jabble is found inside the shop all the way to the left, hiding behind a few logs. If you bully him, he won't join you, but you can revisit the room to make him come back.

In Numbers, We Are Strong (3)
Reach Magnus von Grapple in The Great Tree with all your punies by your side.

It's not very difficult, the time limit is very lenient. Basically, just keep going upward whenever the opportunity presents itself, and keep an eye on your Puni count to make sure you don't lose any. Watch out for the bubble room, though - if you're going to lose one, it's probably going to be there.

Not So Puny Anymore (5)
Defeat Magnus von Grapple in the Great Tree and obtain the Emerald Star.

Magnus von Grapple's Got Hands (5)
Defeat Magnus von Grapple without destroying his hands while they're on the field.

Not too bad. Magnus' hands do 4 damage each and attack every turn if not destroyed, but you shouldn't have to take too many attacks from them if you kill him quickly enough. Just make sure you don't kill them accidentally with something like Earth Tremor or a Superguard. It might be worth bringing a Life Shroom from either Chapter 1 or the shop in West Rogueport, though do note you can't exit the tree once the timer starts counting down.

If you have the Power Punch found inside the Tree, you can have Goombella use it on Mario turn 1, and have Mario start using Spin Jumps. If you hit all the action commands and use Headbonk with upgraded Goombella, Magnus should go down turn 4 after only one round of attacks from the fists.

If you don't have the Power Punch, the strategy is much the same, but you may need to use Sweet Treat to offset some of the damage done by the hands.

I Guess He's Part Dragon? (3)
Collect all 12 coins in World 1-1.

Wow, this one's pretty creative. This takes place during the Bowser intermission after Chapter 2. If you make your way through the level normally, you will probably collect only 10 coins. Where do the other 2 coins come from? The answer is that you have to intentionally take damage, and the other two coins will be located in hidden blocks strategically placed to make it possible to complete the level when small.

Note that if you die, the coin counter will stay, but your achievement progress will be reset. You must collect all 12 coins in one life.

(Thanks to EazyMatt and SirBunting in the comments)

Draft from Behind (3)
Find the hidden entrance to the Trouble Center and talk to the person inside.

This can be done as early as after Chapter 2. In East Rogueport, squeeze in the gap between the Trouble Center and the building next door using Paper Mode. Then, use Flurrie to blow away an obstruction hiding the back door to the Trouble Center. Enter and talk to the person within, and the achievement is yours.

Suck Around and Find Out (10)
Win a match against the Wings of Night team in the Glitz Pit.

After King K disappears, his team will be replaced by the Wings of Night. You can tell because Sir Swoop the bat will be in the Minor League locker room. In order to fight them, you will have to derank all the way to the bottom. As EazyMatt notes in the comments, the easiest way to do that is to just run away from battle over and over again. The Wings of Night will leave after Chapter 3, so you have to do it before the chapter ends.

Leviathan01 has another tip: Save before you start deranking and then reload the save once you get the achievement. This will save you from having to rank back up, and you don't get anything special for defeating the Wings of Night anyway, so nothing of value is lost.

Colorful Companion (5)
Have Yoshi join the party!

Story-related, cannot be missed. Once you rank up to the Major Leagues, look in the top left corner of the locker room for an Ice Storm. This item isn't missable, but it is a pain to get if you miss it the first time.

Super Smasher (5)
Obtain the Super Hammer.

Story-related, cannot be missed.

Surprise Showdown (5)
Defeat Bowser in the Glitz Pit.

Bowser will ambush you after you defeat the 5th-place team, so make sure you pay attention to your ranking and save beforehand. Usually that's the Magikoopa team, but apparently it might be possible for other teams to be in that spot too. Anyway, in this appearance Bowser is pretty weak. You shouldn't have too much trouble defeating him unless you're really beat from the fight beforehand. It's probably a good idea to save before, just in case.

Scuffling Solo (5)
Win a fight in the Glitz Pit after eating the Poisoned Cake.

The Poisoned Cake will appear before the 2nd place fight against Chomp Country. Save before attempting the battle, and bring attack items if you have them. Eating the cake will cause Mario to fight without his partners (apparently all 4 of them had a bite?). The Chomps have 3 Defense and 6 Health, meaning a perfect Earth Tremor will take them out. If you can't use special moves, using attack items and Power Smash is your best bet.

An Unsurprising Upset (5)
Defeat Rawk Hawk and become the new champion.

Flaunting for the Fans (10)
Defeat Rawk Hawk after performing 20 Stylish moves.

You only need to see the Stylish! text 20 times, you don't actually need to do 20 individual moves. Power Smash has 4 Stylish prompts that are pretty easy to hit, and Koops' Shell Toss has 2 (Rawk Hawk can flip Koops over, though, so be careful). If you need to get more without damaging him, you can Tattle with Goombella repeatedly.

In terms of the fight itself, it's not too bad. He's 85% weak to Tiny, so Shrink stomp might be helpful - he can dish out some damage when his health gets low. When he goes on the ceiling, you can hit him with attack items, Quake Hammer, or Flurrie's Body Slam. Ultimately, he shouldn't give you too much trouble (In fact, you might have trouble not killing him TOO quickly).

The condition is always "use a special move," but you don't actually need to to become the champion. Still, a Sweet Treat may be a good idea if you're hurting near the end of the fight.

Flaunting for the Fans is not missable, as you can rematch Rawk Hawk after Chapter 3. I would recommend getting it the first time around, though, as you will have to defeat all of the Glitz Pit teams again to have a chance to rematch the champion.

After beating Rawk Hawk, it is a good idea to save immediately to prepare for the next boss fight. Once you investigate the ghost in the Champion's room, you will not be able to leave the Glitz Pit hallway, so make sure you're prepared to do the missable boss achievement for this chapter before you continue.

User scatter also reminds me that there are two Star Pieces hidden in Grubba's office - one in one of the desk drawers, and one hidden behind a plant in the bottom left corner of the room. You can enter the office again after Chapter 3 to complete a few Troubles, but if you miss them those times, the office is inaccessible unless you become the Champion again. So, it's probably best to just grab them now.

(Credit to gotenks and 14ausher in the comments for parallel thinking)

What happens in the Pit Stays in the Pit (5)
Defeat Macho Grubba in the Glitz Pit and obtain the Gold Star.

Winners Don't Use Drugs (10)
Defeat Macho Grubba without having him buff his Fast Status more than once.

Grubba will use his Fast buff on the first turn and then buff himself and attack for three more turns, before using the fast buff again on the fifth turn. Essentially, then, what we have to do is defeat him within the first five turns. The easiest and most consistent way to do this is to use the Peril Strat (see General Tips / Strategy section). I would recommend Yoshi - even without any upgrades or additional badges, he will do 6-5-4-3 (18) damage to Grubba. With that kind of damage, Mario can pretty much do whatever he wants, but it might be a good idea to try Soft Stomp. Soft won't lower defense past 0, but it will proactively cancel out Grubba's defense buff it he decides to use it (and if he does, it will crater Yoshi's damage). Luckily, Grubba has a 90% chance of being affected by Soft, so it shouldn't take too many tries to affect him.

If you can't or don't want to do the Peril Strat, the achievement comments have several alternative strategies you can try. I myself used JaxonH99's proposed strategy of stacking several Charges and Charge Ps and unleashing a massive Power Bounce and Multibonk, which was admittedly incredibly satisfying. It might be difficult to pull off if you don't have the Power Bounce timing down, but the Simplifier available in the Rogueport Badge shop can help with that. And trust me, if you want to master this set, you will need to become very familiar with the Power Bounce timing.

Whatever you choose, please note that once you confront Grubba in his office, you're not able to leave the Glitz Pit hallway. Make any preparations you need to and only save after confronting Grubba if you're confident that you have what you need.

Raising the Stakes (10)
Receive the maximum amount of coins from investing in Lumpy.

Lumpy is a green mouse located on the right side of Rogueport Harbor. If you talk to him, he gives you the opportunity to invest up to 300 coins (3x 100 coin increments). It is well worth investing the full 300, as you will get 999 coins when Lumpy returns after Chapter 6. Hopefully you have 300 coins, but if you don't, you can try doing some Troubles (many have a coin reward) or grinding enemies. If you're going to grind enemies, I might recommend either trying out the Pit of 100 Trials (and doing the "Help my Daddy" trouble while you're at it) or, if you want, you can rank back up through the Glitz Pit. Ranking back up through the Glitz Pit again isn't required for this set, though, unless you missed the Ice Storm in the Major League locker room.

Lumpy will leave after Chapter 4 ends, but you'll be unable to return to Rogueport halfway through the chapter, so it's probably best to pay him the coins before you leave for Twilight Town.

When he comes back after Chapter 6, he will completely fill your wallet with 999 coins, and this achievement will pop. Any excess coins you may have already had will be wasted, so make sure to spend as much as you can before talking to him.

Let's Eat, Grandma (2)
Recieve a Shooting Star as a reward for helping a single mother feed her kids.

You should do this as soon as you enter Twilight Town. She is located in the house to the left of the store on the eastern screen of the town. You can give her any food item you wish. Even a Dried Shroom, if you're feeling particularly cruel. If you didn't bring anything, you can get a Peachy Peach by staying at the inn. You won't be able to earn this achievement after you break the curse by defeating the monster in the steeple.

A Tubular Curse (3)
Recieve the terrible, soul-rending curse of being able to transform into a paper tube.

Story-related, impossible to miss.

Glittering and Gold (5)
Defeat an Amazy Dayzee.

While traversing through the forest, you may rarely come across an Amazy Dayzee. At this point, attempting to defeat one is probably a bad idea - they have 20 HP, 20(!) Attack, and their singing attack is very hard to Guard against. It even has a chance to put you to sleep.

Later on, when you're more powerful, you'll be able to defeat them without too much trouble.

This Is Getting Out of Hand (5)
Defeat ??? in Creepy Steeple and obtain the Ruby Star.

Hey! How come this boss doesn't get a special condition achievement like the rest of the chapter bosses? He is pretty forgettable, to be fair - I can't even remember his name.

Anyways, after Macho Grubba, this boss doesn't put up too much of a fight. He has 40 HP and 4 Attack. Power Lift really starts to shine here. A decent Defense boost will make his attacks basically useless, and with a high attack boost, you can use Power Bounce and Multibonk to shred his HP. You probably don't even need to go that far - with only 40 HP, Spin Jump will get the job done. Near the end of the battle, the boss will transform into a shadow version of Mario, but won't really become any more threatening. Defeat him to claim his Crystal Star and end a surprisingly short chapter.

If you want to try something different, the boss is 50% susceptible to Freeze and 60% susceptible to Stop, so you could try the Ice Smash Hammer move (conveniently found in Creepy Steeple) or the Clock Out special move. If he's affected by either of those, you'll be able to whale on him with no resistance. Not that he was putting up much resistance to begin with.

Gamer Beware, You're in for a Scare... (5)
Defeat the Atomic Boo in Creepy Steeple.

Ouch, I Got a Boo-Boo (10)
Defeat the Atomic Boo with only Mario in your party.

Immediately after waking up from your fight with ???, you should save and heal. You won't need to go far to challenge the Atomic Boo, and if you want to get the Ouch, I Got a Boo-Boo achievement, you'll have to do it now while you have no partners. To fight the Atomic Boo, return to the main hall of Creepy Steeple, where Boos will start floating around you. Eventually the Boos will start to latch on to Mario, at which point you should use the Super Hammer's spin move to knock them off. If too many of them latch on, they will toss you outside the building, but you can just re-enter and try again. After a few Hammer spins, the Boos will come together into the Atomic Boo, and the fight will begin.

Atomic Boo has 40 HP and 4 Attack, just like ???, but this time your damage output and flexibility are greatly lessened due to not having a partner. Power Lift is a decent option to start, although less so than usual because you don't have a partner to take advantage of it too. Using Power Lift is probably better than just attacking, though, especially if you factor in the defense buff. Use Spin Jump or Power Bounce as you prefer. If you need to, use Sweet Treat or healing items to recover.

Atomic Boo has two attacks that you need to watch out for. On some turns, instead of attacking, he will hide his face in his hands. The next turn, he will use his Spook attack, which has a chance to Confuse Mario if it's not guarded. While Confused, Mario has a chance to do something besides what you told him to, like run away or Defend (usually, he can attack his partner, too, but we can't in this case). The other attack to watch out for is when Boos circle around Mario. When they attack, they have a chance of causing the Stop status effect, which will completely immobilize Mario for several turns. In order to prevent these status effects, you should try to guard against the attacks, although the timing can be tricky.

Before you leave the Creepy Steeple, make sure to heal and save again. Also, if you haven't found it already, you can get a Golden Leaf (or several) from a tree hidden in the northern outside hallway. Just squeeze through the hole in the fence and head off-screen to the right to find a gold-colored tree you can hit with your Hammer. It will drop a Golden Leaf, an item that heals 10 FP by itself, and can be used in many recipes. The leaf will respawn if you leave the screen, so you can collect as many as you want. It might be worth grabbing a few to keep in storage for recipes, but don't sweat it if you don't have space. You can always come back later (or very shortly, as the case may be).

The trip back to Twilight Town can be pretty brutal without a partner. Don't be shy about avoiding enemies or running from battle, as you can very easily get overwhelmed, especially if Crazy Dayzees put you to sleep.

Shadow Beauty (5)
Have Vivian join the party!

Story-related, cannot be missed.

Ghost in Plumber's Clothing (5)
Defeat Doopliss in Creepy Steeple and obtain the Ruby Star.

I Fight My Friends (10)
Defeat Doopliss in Chapter 4 after defeating all your partners.

This will likely be a longer battle than the first one, as we have to work our way through all of Mario's partners. It may be a good idea to bring HP and FP restoring items. Do remember that you can get unlimited Golden Leaves (which restore 10 FP each) right here in Creepy Steeple.

Anyways, simply battle as you see fit. Each partner shouldn't pose too much of a threat, and most are completely nullified with a defense buff from Power Lift. Koops is especially easy - simply jump on him and he will flip onto his back, unable to attack. Use Sweet Treat or items as needed to keep your HP and FP up, and remember to save Doopliss himself for the end, and you shouldn't have too much trouble with this one.

When you return to Rogueport, make sure that you have the Hammerman badge from Charlieton (180 coins) before you depart for Keelhaul Key. If you don't, you will lock yourself out of the missable boss achievement for Chapter 5. The Hammer Throw badge will also come in handy (for once), so pick that up from the Twilight Trail if you haven't already (You probably have, as it's pretty hard to miss).

Mysterious Trouble (5)
Complete the anonymous trouble for a special reward...

After Chapter 4, you can complete the "Elusive badge!" Trouble from the Trouble Center in order to unlock Ms. Mowz. This Trouble requires you to go all the way back to Hooktail's lair, and use Flurrie to uncover a hidden chest in the middle of the room. If you really wanted, you could combine this with the trip back for the Up Arrow available after Chapter 5, but Ms. Mowz' ability is so useful for the "collect all items' achievements, that I would recommend getting her as soon as you can. Besides, you'll need to make a trip back for the "Try to find me!" Trouble anyways (Unfortunately, you can't do that trouble while doing the Ms. Mowz one, as you can only have one Trouble active at a time, and the badge for Ms. Mowz is not spawned unless the Trouble is active).

Ms. Mowz is not exceptional in combat, although her ability to pierce defense can come in handy sometimes. Her overworld ability is absolutely invaluable for this run, though, as stated above. The ability works like this: when you press X, she will sniff, and then if there's an item anywhere on the screen, she will tell you. She will also point either left or right, and this will tell you what direction the item is in. This will help you pinpoint the location of the item on one axis. If you don't find it at the point where she switches between left and right, the item may be further back on the screen, or it may be up/down on a different floor. When near an item, Ms. Mowz will start sniffing on her own, and when X is pressed she will do a flip and say the item is close by. Finally, if there are any items (coins, hearts, flowers) from an enemy battle, Mowz will count that as an item, so either collect them or wait for them to despawn.

While revisiting Hooktail's Castle, try to get items for the Over the Meadows achievement if you haven't already. There are several Star Pieces in Spin Jump panels that you couldn't get the first time through.

Bonked and Bumped (2)
Whack Whacka until he does not want to be whacked anymore.

"That's a rare Whacka. I don't think you see many of his kind anymore, nope. If you whack a Whacka, they drop a Whacka Bump. Those are supposed to be delicious. They fetch a high price in gourmet auctions, too. Yup, super-precious delicacies. Still, whacking a defenseless creature to get one... You'd never do that, right, Mario?" - Goombella

Despite what it says at the top of this guide, this might actually be the hardest achievement in the game (because you have to carry the weight of what you've done).

Whacka is an endangered species that appears on the north end of the Beach in Keelhaul Key. If you hit him with a hammer, he will drop a Whacka Bump, an item that heals 25 HP and 25 FP. Simply leave the screen and come back to make him respawn. You can hit Whacka 8 times before he leaves for good.

You don't need to whack him all 8 times in a row, though - Whacka will be waiting for you whenever you need him. Also, it's worth keeping at least 1 Whacka Bump to cook with a Golden Leaf into a Zess Deluxe, as that's probably the easiest way to get one.

Bombardio Bucko (5)
Have Admiral Bobbery join the party!

Story-related, impossible to miss.

Accursed Waters (5)
Receive the unspeakably dreadful curse of being able to turn into a paper boat.

Story-related, impossible to miss.

Plundering the Booty (5)
Defeat Cortez at the end of Pirate's Grotto and obtain the Sapphire Star.

A Pirate uses his Sword (10)
Defeat Cortez with the Hammerman badge equipped and while only using Bobbery the entire fight.

Make sure you buy the Hammerman badge from Charlieton in Rogueport before leaving for Keelhaul Key in Chapter 5, otherwise you will lock yourself out of this achievement! (Thanks to Aquator and TrashCity in the comments for also warning people).

This battle has three phases (each with 20 HP), and during the third phase, the boss will be floating in the air along with his four swords, meaning Mario's Hammer and Bobbery won't be able to reach him. As 14ausher notes, this means that attack items will be pretty essential. Thunder Rages (from Twilight Town) are probably the best, but if you don't have them, then Fire Flowers or Ice Storms from Keelhaul Key will get the job done. Note that Earth Quakes and POW blocks won't work, as the enemies are not grounded.

The Hammerman badge boosts your power by 1, but prevents you from using any Jump attacks. This means that it's a good idea to reconfigure your badge setup for this battle. Any Jump attacks like Multibounce or Power Bounce are out, of course. You can also get rid of Spike Shield or Ice Power if you have them equipped. Finally, as we will be only using Bobbery, Quick Change can be ditched if you have it. Using your new wealth of BP, I would recommend equipping Hammerman itself, as well as Power Smash and Hammer Throw (perhaps the one time in recorded history that this badge is useful), assuming you have them. Use any remaining BP as you see fit, perhaps with a Power Plus or some HP/FP Plus badges. Cortez is also 50% susceptible to Confuse, so you could bring Head Rattle if you really wanted to. Make sure you heal, save, and have Bobbery out, and enter the ship to start the fight.

The first two phases of the fight aren't too bad. Just use Power Smash with Mario and Bomb with Bobbery, and heal with Sweet Treat or items as needed. Cortez has a charge attack that we really have no option but to tank, so keep an eye on your and your partner's health.

The third phase is where things can go south if you're not prepared. In this phase, Cortez will start floating, as will all 4 of his weapons. On Cortez' turn, each weapon will do its own attack (as will Cortez himself), meaning it is imperative that we deal with them to avoid taking massive damage. Multi-target attack items are the best way, and since Bobbery can't do much else, it's a good idea to have him use them. Thunder Rages will defeat the weapons outright, and do the most damage to Cortez. If you don't have them, Fire Flowers will do 3 damage, which is not enough to KO the weapons. However, they will burn the weapons (100% chance), meaning that they will go down after they attack once. Ice Storms also do 3 damage, and have an 85% chance to freeze the weapons (and a 25% chance to freeze Cortez, if you're lucky), which might actually be preferable to KOing them. In any case, if you KO the weapons, they will come back after a few turns, so make sure you bring a good amount of items to use.

Meanwhile, Mario should try to focus on taking down Cortez. Cortez has 20 HP during this round, and will eat the audience members souls' to heal fully when he gets low, effectively giving him 40 HP during this phase. Because he's floating. normal Hammer attacks and Power Smash won't work. I highly recommend using Hammer Throw for consistent easy damage. If you don't have Hammer Throw for whatever reason, your best option is likely either to use items along with Bobbery or to use Special moves like Earth Tremor or Art Attack. Earth Tremor will take the weapons out too if you get a high enough Action Command, which is probably the best move if you run out of items. Art Attack will let you focus damage on Cortez himself, but has a steep 4 SP cost, which, when combined with Cortez nerfing your SP gain by eating half the audience, may leave you without enough resources to finish the fight. If you're in this situation, it might be worth fishing for a freeze with Ice Storms and using Art Attack to move in for the kill, as (I believe) Cortez will be unable to heal himself if he is frozen.

After defeating Cortez, make sure that you change your badge setup back to whatever you prefer before the next boss fight.

Giving no Quarter (5)
Defeat Lord Crump in a ship battle.

In this battle, Crump will fight alongside an X-Naut platoon. You should try and focus on Crump, as he will summon more X-Nauts if you defeat them. Using multi-target attacks like Fiery Jinx can be a good idea to save some damage, though. Crump has 30 HP, but will run offstage to heal himself back up to full after the first bar is depleted, giving him effectively 60 HP. During the second phase, the X-Naut platoon will roll up into a ball, dealing 5 damage to both characters on their turn, so make sure you keep both characters healthy. Keep your focus on Crump, and you should send him packing without too much trouble.

Shining Even Further (25)
Upgrade every partner to Ultra Rank.

After Chapter 5, you'll probably see Merlon standing just outside his house. Talk to him to learn about a hidden treasure in Hooktail's Castle that will be very useful. The treasure is located just beyond the room where the black chest was - in the room with the falling spike ceiling, there is a crack in the eastern wall that Bobbery can blow up. This treasure turns out to be an underwhelming Up Arrow, but bringing it back to Merlon will allow you to upgrade your partners to Ultra Rank. While you're in Hooktail's Castle, you might want to do the "Try to find me!" or "Elusive badge!" Trouble if you haven't already.

At this point you can have up to 32 Shine Sprites, meaning you should be able to fully upgrade several of your partners. If you're struggling to choose, here are my suggestions:

  • Goombella gains Rally Wink, which gives Mario an extra turn. Great for flexibility and for Mario-centric builds.
  • Yoshi gains Stampede, an absolutely busted move that hits every enemy (despite it saying grounded, it actually hits everyone) 6 times for 1 damage. While this doesn't sound all that impressive at first, if you stack enough attack boosts, you will be able to absolutely shred everything on the field.
  • Koops gains Shell Slam, an attack that hits all grounded enemies and pierces Defense. A great move for enemies with high Defense, and is especially useful for the Pit.
  • Bobbery gains Bobombast, a powerful move that attacks all enemies on the field. It has a very high FP cost (9 by default), meaning it's often not economical to use, but can be good if you have no other options. Having an Ultra Rank Bobbery will also probably be useful for the missable boss achievement in Chapter 6, as he has the largest HP pool of all the partners when fully upgraded.

As for the rest, here's why I might wait on them:

  • Vivian's first upgrade is quite good - Fiery Jinx is very useful, especially for the point in the game which you get it. For whatever reason, though, Fiery Jinx specifically doesn't increase its damage with Ultra Rank, and Vivian's new move, Infatuate, is situational at best.
  • Flurrie was very useful for me during my Bonetail fight, as she could basically keep herself alive and do some decent damage with Lip Lock. I would definitely get her to Ultra Rank before you challenge the Pit, especially if you're going for Trials and Tribulations. Her lack of AoE attacks or devastating single-target damage means she's outclassed in most other situations, though, so she's probably not a priority unless you're gearing up for an early Pit clear.
  • Ms. Mowz' most useful move is probably Kiss Thief, and she has that from the start. Love Slap piercing defense can come in handy sometimes, but you'll typically have much better options with other partners, like Shell Slam or Lip Lock.

By the midpoint of Chapter 7, you will have enough Shine Sprites to Ultra-rank everyone, so don't worry about missing out. If you want to reassign upgrades, you can even do that by visiting Chet Rippo in the Rogueport underground.

A Hundred Strong (3)
Watch Frankie confess his true love to Francesca.

Story-related, impossible to miss.

Stewing Over a Mystery (2)
Solve the mystery of the stolen stew.

Story-related, impossible to miss.

Deadly Diary (0)
Didn't anyone ever tell you not to read through other people's things?

After retrieving the ghost's diary from the baggage car, you can read it by going to your key items in your inventory. Note that this will instantly give you a Game Over, so save before you do. If you give the diary back to the ghost without reading it, you will miss this achievement.

A Sticky Situation (3)
Solve the mystery of the sticky, yummy explosion.

Story-related, impossible to miss.

Spring In Your Step (5)
Obtain the Ultra Boots.

Story-related, impossible to miss.

It's a Smorgasbord! (5)
Defeat Smorg on top of the Excess Express.

It's Just Like a Real RPG (10)
Defeat Smorg without landing any successful Action Commands.

For this achievement, you're allowed to use Special moves (and can do their inputs), use items, use Guards or Superguards, or use attacks so long as you don't succeed the Action Command. If a move has different "levels" of succeeding the action command (like Bobombast), you can only use the bare minimum or else it will void the achievement. Before fighting the boss, pick up a few Thunder Rages, Super Shrooms, and Maple Syrups at the train's item shop. You can talk to the clerk to wake him up if you have anything useful in storage. You can also change around your badges - get rid of any that rely on successful action commands, like Power Bounce, as well as ones like Spike Shield that won't be useful during this fight. If you have Jumpman equipped, I would remove it too - Hammer attacks will be more useful, as jumps will have their damage cut in half due to the lack of Action Commands. Use your spare BP to equip Power Smash, Power Plus badges (especially P), HP/FP plus badges, Flower Saver, and Double Dip if you have it.

The first phase will feature three tentacles that must be defeated before you can damage the core. Use a Thunder Rage to open the battle, and then attack the core. Bobbery is a good choice for a partner - his Bomb does decent damage even if you fail the action command. For Mario, either Power Smash or regular Hammer is probably your best bet for damage while failing the Action Command. On the second turn, have Mario use Power Lift and continue attacking with your partner. At this point, the tentacles should return and attack immediately. They will each do 5 damage, but a defense boost from Power Lift will help a lot. From this point forward, if you have Double Dip, have Mario play a support role, using Thunder Rage and healing items as necessary, and Power Smash when he can. Have him use Power Lift again when it runs out (Note that failed attacks won't generate Star Power, so unless you Appeal you'll only have six points for the entire fight). Have Bobbery attack using Bomb when the core is exposed. During the second phase, the three tentacles will be replaced by a large claw that will deal 10 damage to Mario and his partner every turn. The good news is that the core is now unprotected, so you can attack it directly without defeating the claw. It's still probably worth taking the claw out, though, so use two Thunder Rages with Double Dip to defeat it in one turn.

If you don't have Double Dip, the fight might be a little harder. You should still grab Thunder Rages, as they're by far the best way to get rid of the tentacles. The problem is that it's hard to keep up the attack tempo if you have to use a full turn for healing, especially if you only have access to Super Shrooms. You might need to play more defensively, using Appeals, Sweet Treats (Sweet Feast is probably infeasible with needing 5 SP), and Earth Tremor. Or you might want to play more aggressively, going all in on power-boosting badges and using Power Lift and Bomb / Power Smash to get through the second phase quickly before you take too much damage.

(Thanks to EazyMatt, JaxonH99, Leviathan01, PerilKnight, 14ausher, rtarroyo, SirBunting, BlitzsBeast, and Xelrog for their contributions in the comments!)

Wahrio (3)
Combine the powers of L and W.

Inside the hidden chamber in the Poshley Sanctum, you can find the L Emblem in the northwest corner of the room. To get there, you'll have to Spring Jump up to the pipes crossing the room (stand on the star emblem on the ground), shimmy to the left, and repeat a few more times to get to the third level. When you equip the L emblem, your clothes will change to look like Luigi's. All is not lost, however, as you can also purchase the W Emblem from Charlieton in Rogueport for 360 coins. Equipping this badge will change your clothes to look like Wario. An improvement, to be sure, but in order to unlock your final form, you will need to equip both the L emblem and the W emblem at the same time, changing your clothes to look like Waluigi.

Like It's June 1996 (3)
Obtain the Garnet Star and end Chapter 6.

Story-related, impossible to miss.

After Chapter 6, Lumpy will return to Rogueport - if you invested with him, visit him again to earn your achievement. Make sure to spend as much as you can first.

Power Pounder (5)
Obtain the Ultra Hammer.

Story-related, cannot be missed.

Wondering Whence White's Whereabouts (5)
Convince the mayor of Fahr Outpost to use their cannon.

Story-related, cannot be missed. Once you reach Fahr Outpost, you have access to all the Shine Sprites in the game, and can Ultra-rank all your partners. Merluvlee in the Rogueport Underground can help you find any Shine Sprites you're missing.

Dunce Destroyer (3)
Fail the 66th Annual Quirk Quiz and win the fight afterwards.

Upon failing the quiz, you will fight 2 X-Yuxes. They aren't too bad on their own, but if they manage to Stop you with one of their attacks, things will go south fast. If they get 4 mini X-Yuxes up, they will unleash a devastating beam attack that will likely leave you Stopped, so make sure you use an AoE attack like Fiery Jinx or Stampede to take them out before they have a chance to.

Little Mario in a Big World (2)
Temporarily become 8-bit.

On Sublevel 2 of the X-Naut Fortress, you will find an open vent in the ceiling you can jump into. If you head right and drop down, you'll fall into one of the booths in a changing room - simply open the curtain, and Mario and his partner will be transformed into 8-bit sprites! The effect ends when you leave the room.

Titular Takedown (5)
Defeat Magnus von Grapple 2.0 in the X-Naut Fortress and obtain the Crystal Star.

If you're using P-Up D-Down, you might want to take it off for this fight.

There aren't any special conditions/achievements for this fight, so go ahead and go all-out with whatever strategy you'd like! I would highly recommend using some kind of AoE attack (Fiery Jinx, Stampede) to defeat the fists as they appear, as they do 9 damage each. Magnus is also 80% vulnerable to Soft, so you could try Soft Stomp to get rid of his 2 Defense if you'd like.

Once Magnus gets to low health, he will unleash the most ludicrous attack in the game: the Audience Cannon. He'll suck up 10 audience members and then shoot them rapid-fire at Mario and his partner, dealing 3 damage each. This adds up to a whopping 30 damage, and potentially even more depending on your badge setup. As the hits are individually calculated, raising or lowering your defense by 1 will decrease or increase the damage you take by 10, respectively. This also means that Guarding will go a long way in reducing the damage. Don't bother trying to Defend, though, as Magnus will keep using this move, so you'll need to keep your damage output up and end the fight as quickly as possible.

Before starting Chapter 8, make sure you buy the Double Pain badge (36 coins) from Charlieton if you haven't already. Unlike Chapter 5, you can go back and get it, but it is much more convenient if you buy it before entering the Palace of Shadow.

Yo, These Bars Are Straight Fire (2)
Destroy all five Fire Bars in the Palace of Shadow.

You can jump over the fire bars 10 times to make them disappear. Note that they will speed up after every jump. If you need to, you can do a Spin Jump to stall in midair.

Near the end of the area, you'll find two fire bars rotating around a platform. Jump up from the platform to reveal a Hidden Block containing a Boo's Sheet. I highly recommend saving this Boo's Sheet for the final battle against the Shadow Queen, especially if you're going for And Make it Double.

For Every Castle, There Is a Dragon (5)
Defeat Gloomtail in the Palace of Shadow.

Again, there are no special conditions, so use whatever strategy you're comfortable with. Gloomtail's attacks are quite damaging and his Poison Breath and Earthquake attacks target both party members, so make sure to keep your HP up. He is also susceptible (70%) to Soft, so a Soft Stomp could eliminate his 2 defense if you need to. When he charges up for his Megabreath attack, use Vivian's Veil to avoid it.

AFTER DEFEATING GLOOMTAIL, IMMEDIATELY GO TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROOM AND BLOW IT UP USING BOBBERY. This will lead to a room with a few item blocks. These items are MISSABLE, as once you activate the keys in the tower, Gloomtail's lair will become inaccessible. Make sure they actually enter your inventory - if it's full, throw something else away.

The Three Shadow Sirens...? (5)
Defeat the Shadow Sirens (and Doopliss) in the Palace of Shadow.

Again, no special conditions. After Gloomtail, these three are pushovers (just make sure you heal and save once you get back to the tower). You might want to focus Beldam first, as getting frozen will likely ruin your day. All three are decently vulnerable to Stop (50%) and Sleep (40-50%), so a Stopwatch (you likely found one earlier in this chapter, even), Sleepy Sheep, or Clock Out will, will, with any luck, take 1 or 2 of them out of commission. Just remember that if they're sleeping, attacking them has a chance to wake them up.

Grodus's Plans, All for Naut (10)
Defeat Grodus in the Palace of Shadow.

Before fighting Grodus, it might be worth it to get your Star Points close to 100 so you level up for the subsequent Bowser fight.

No special conditions with this one either. Grodus will summon Grodus Xs that will boost his defense and, if all 4 are up, will make him invincible. My recommendation is to use an AoE attack like Fiery Jinx or Stampede (Fiery Jinx will pierce Defense, while Stampede will deal bonkers damage to Grodus if it's buffed enough) to clear out the Grodus Xs, and then use Power Bounce with Mario to whale on Grodus. Or vice versa - use a Multibounce or Tornado Jump with Mario to clear out the Grodus Xs, and use a buffed Multibonk or Stampede to ruin Grodus.

Grodus has a few magic attacks at his disposal - of these, the ice beam and the Stop attack are probably the most threatening. Try to Guard them as best as you can, although the timing is a little tricky. The Stop attack deals no damage, so don't try and go for a Superguard unless you're just showing off.

Immediately after the Grodus fight, you'll be thrown into the next boss fight against Bowser and Kammy Koopa.

Hail To The Koopa King (10)
Defeat Bowser and Kammy in the Palace of Shadow.

Non-Contractual Boss Immunity (5)
Defeat Bowser or Kammy with the Showstopper special move.

As EzLo54 notes in the comments, for whatever reason, Showstopper has a 5% chance to instantly KO both Bowser and Kammy. Thankfully, you only need to KO one of them this way, so just keep using the move and hope that you get lucky. With your partner, either Appeal (Super Appeal P is useful here), use healing items, or try Yoshi's Mini-Egg to reduce the bosses' damage output (75% chance for Bowser, 60% for Kammy). Heal as necessary, and hopefully you'll get it after a few attempts. FerretPlayingPS4 notes in the game comments that if you end up using a lot of healing items trying to grind this out, it's probably worth resetting and going through the fight normally to get them back. This is especially true if you're going for And Make it Double, as you'll want all the healing items you can get for that achievement.

If you're going through the fight normally, it's not too hard, especially if you leveled up after Grodus. Just focus Kammy first, as she will cause all kinds of havoc with her buffs. Note that if you don't Guard Bowser's Stomp attack, you will lose one of your commands temporarily, which might cause a bit of trouble if you're using Jumpman. In that case, you can try a few items or special moves. Besides that, these two shouldn't be too hard to take down.

And Make it Double (10)
Defeat the Shadow Queen with the Double Pain badge equipped.

Epilogue (25)
Complete the final chapter and close the book on a long, long journey...

This one seems pretty intimidating, but isn't all that bad if you prepare accordingly.

Before fighting the Shadow Queen, make sure to get your inventory and badge setup ready. Bring some good healing items (you can get up to 3 Ultra Shrooms in Chapter 8 itself, including the one in the passage to the Shadow Queen), at least one Boo's Sheet (you can find one in Chapter 8), and a few Life Shrooms (you can find 3 in Chapter 8). Repel Capes can be useful too, but Flurrie's Dodgy Fog move can also have the same effect.

As for badges, here are some notes:

  • Double Pain is required, of course. This badge doubles the damage Mario receives, but not his partner. Note that this is applied at the very end of damage calculations, so Defending and Guarding will reduce the damage by 2 instead of 1. Because of that, you might think that equipping badges to boost your Defense is a good strategy.
  • As 14ausher points out in the comments, however, most of the Shadow Queen's attacks pierce Defense. This means that badges like Defend Plus and Damage Dodge (Despite it saying "decrease damage," it actually increases your Defense) are not useful for this fight. The exception is P-Down D-Up and its counterpart, which directly modify the damage taken instead of Mario's Defense. So, you could use that to decrease the damage, although I myself stuck with P-Up D-Down to maximize my damage potential. Just don't equip them at the same time, or they will cancel each other out and waste 4 BP.
  • Make sure to unequip any badges that aren't useful for this fight. like Spike Shield, Ice Power, Flower/Heart Finder, etc.
  • Use any new BP to equip power boosting badges, HP Plus badges, and Quick Change. I would recommend a jump-focused build with Jumpman, Power Bounce, and Multibounce (just in case you need to KO the hands with Mario). Power Jump is probably not as useful in this fight, so you can ditch it. Double Dip and/or Double Dip P can come in handy, as well - you can heal Mario and use an attacking item or a buffing item on the same turn.
  • 1 or 2 copies of Pretty Lucky might be helpful, if you have nothing else to spend your BP on. 1 copy will give a 10% chance to dodge, and 2 will give a 19% chance. Combined with Dodgy, the chance increases to 55% and 59.5%.

Once you're ready, save and begin the fight with the Shadow Queen. During the first phase, try to get her down as soon as you can. Power Lift (remember, prioritize the Attack arrows since the Defense boost doesn't do much) and Power Bounce / Ground Pound / Multibonk is, as always, a good option. Hopefully you won't have taken too much damage. Next, the Shadow Queen will transform into her true form, and we won't be able to damage her. The Shadow Queen and her two Hands will attack, dealing 14 damage if they target Mario and 7 if they target his partner. Mario will have to withstand an onslaught of attacks, so now's a good time to use the Boo's Sheet if you have it. Once that runs out, you can use Flurrie's Dodgy Fog, which will cause 50% of attacks to miss Mario. Now is also a good time to Tattle her if you haven't already. You can't just sit around healing and buffing, though, as it seems that you need to attempt to attack the Shadow Queen a few times before she will transition into the next phase of the fight. You will be fully restored before the next phase starts, so feel free to go for broke with your FP and SP. Try and conserve your items if you can, but don't sweat it if you need to use an Ultra Shroom. Right after the Shadow Queen eats the audience to restore her HP, a cutscene will play and the second half of the fight will begin.

In the second half of the fight, as 14ausher recommends in the comments, you're going to want to keep the Shadow Queen's hands down as much as possible. Having to deal with only 1 attack per turn instead of 3 will make keeping Mario's health up a lot easier. AoE attacks like Stampede, Fiery Jinx or Bobombast will take care of them, and will do solid damage to the Shadow Queen herself (especially Stampede, if you use Power Lift and have a few other boosts). Otherwise, Power Lift with Mario and use Power Bounce, or Spin Jump, if you prefer. You'll get a guaranteed Shine Bingo a few turns in, so feel free to go all-out until then. After that, keep up consistent damage, keep the hands down, and try to keep Mario's health above ~30 if you can, so he can survive two attacks. Heal Mario with a healing item or Sweet Feast if he gets too low (and if you have Double Dip, throw in a buffing or attacking item while you're at it), and you should have it in the bag. Here's a few stray observations:

  • Power Bounce (and Multibonk) will likely cap at 5-7 bounces, even if you hit the timing perfectly. Even so, if you can consistently get to the cap it's by far the best option for Mario.
  • Goombella's Rally Wink is a great option if your partner doesn't need to do anything else and you want to have Mario attack again.
  • Occasionally, the Shadow Queen will Charge, doubling the power of her next attack. You may want to use Vivian's Veil to avoid it, but honestly that causes more problems that it solves. It will likely waste a Power Lift tick if you have it up, the hands might spawn again after, meaning possibly more damage than if you just decided to tank it, and because the move takes up 1 Mario turn and 1 partner turn, it robs you of some attack tempo that is crucial to finishing the fight fast. And because the Shadow Queen is spending a turn adding 7 to her attack anyways, it's effectively the same as her choosing to attack 2 turns in a row. What I might recommend instead is (assuming Mario has more than 28 Hp to tank it) having Flurrie use Dodgy Fog, which will grant a 50% chance to dodge the attack anyway, and will last for 4 turns, meaning you will likely dodge at least 1 more attack.
  • You might want to consider using Dodgy Fog in general - 4 turns of 50% chance to dodge is a decent investment for 1 partner turn. Even better, if you put away a partner with a Power Lift boost, they will still have the boost when you swap them back in, so you don't have to worry about an opportunity cost.
  • Occasionally, the Shadow Queen will use a breath attack. If it's green, it has a chance to Poison, which isn't too bad, all things considered. If it's pink, if has a chance to Confuse, which can be pretty bad, at it can cause Mario to attack hsi partner, or vice versa. If it's blue, it has a chance to inflict the Allergic status effect, which outside of giving you an achievement is pretty bad for our purposes (You can also get this achievement from eating Space Food, so don't feel like you need to get it here). If Mario is Allergic, he will be immune to all status changes, good or bad. This means that Power Lift and Dodgy Fog (among other moves and items) will be useless, so don't waste a turn on them. Fortunately, it won't cancel out existing status effects. You'll know that Allergic has been inflicted if you see the confusing message "Status hasn't changed!" or if you see the red NO sign flashing next to Mario. Sweet Treat/Feast will cure all status effects, so use one of those, especially if you get Confused.
  • You'll probably want to bring along a few Life Shrooms. Do note that they will leave Mario with 10 HP when resurrecting him, so if he's hit by multiple attacks in one turn he might burn through them all. If you're good about keeping your health up, hopefully you won't get into that situation.
  • If you're having trouble, do note that despite the threatening music, you can make the long trip back to Rogueport if you need to resupply (or buy Double Pain if you forgot). Grodus will patiently wait for you to return before he realizes his life's goal of summoning the Shadow Queen. What a considerate guy!
  • Chet Rippo in the Rogueport Underground can respec your stats if you feel like that's necessary.
  • If all else fails, the Peril Strat is always an option. You can buy unlimited Power Rush Ps from the Pianta Parlor (if you have the Gold Card), meaning for 1 BP you can raise your partner's attack by 2. If you stack enough of them and use Peril Yoshi's Stampede, the Shadow Queen won't stand a chance. Getting into Peril after the full heal halfway through is the tricky part, though. The easiest way is to use a Trial Stew. Note that his will also decrease your FP to 0, so you should probably Double Dip an FP-restoring item too. Also, right after using it, you should use Yoshi's turn to swap out instead of attacking, so he isn't vulnerable to attack.
  • If you've completed the Pit of 100 Trials, you could potentially use the Return Postage badge. It's still probably not worth the 7 BP, but it could be funny.
  • Hilariously, because the Poison Mushroom Bingo takes away half of your health, getting one with Double Pain equipped will kill Mario instantly. If you're going to get one, try your best to time not getting it (which is theoretically easer than getting it, I guess), unless you want to burn a Life Shroom and leave Mario in a bad position.

Step 2: Pit of 100 Trials | Total points: 125 

Heavy Pockets (25)
Claim your reward on the 50th floor of the Pit of 100 Trials.

After clearing the 50th floor, you'll get the Strange Sack, a key item that doubles the size of your inventory from 10 to 20. It's incredibly useful, so it might be worth making a partial trip to get it earlier in the story. The extra inventory space is also very helpful for the "collect all items" achievements, as well as some achievements like And Make it Double or Trials and Tribulations that benefit from being able to carry increased healing items. You should be able to make it down to 50 without too much trouble in the Chapter 4-6 area.

All That Remains (50)
Defeat the terror awaiting at the bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials.

I'm going to assume that you want to get Trials and Tribulations, so I won't say too much about a default Pit run. If you really want to, though, the advice is pretty much the same, with the addition that Sweet Treat is your best friend, and you can use the Peril Strat to take down Bonetail (It's a little harder to set it up, though, especially if you brought Life Shrooms). Remember that Bonetail DOES NOT come back after you defeat him, so if you do a normal Pit run, you will lock yourself out of Trials and Tribulations.

Trials and Tribulations (50)
Defeat the terror at the bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials without using Special Moves or equipping any Danger-related badges during the entire pit.

First, let's clarify the terms of this achievement. You cannot use Mario's Special Moves (the Crystal Star moves, including Sweet Treat), and you cannot equip any badges that take effect when Mario or his partner are in Danger (or Peril). Zomoroko has provided a list of the forbidden badges, to be specific: Power Rush, Power Rush P, Last Stand, Last Stand P, Mega Rush, Mega Rush P, Close Call, and Close Call P. If you really wanted to be sure you don't accidentally equip them, you can sell them to the Rogueport badge shop. Don't worry about losing them permanently, as you can buy them back later whenever you'd like.

These two conditions have several implications. First, the Peril Strat (and other Danger-related strats) are out. Second, Power Lift is out, meaning we lose our easiest buff. Finally, and most pressingly, not being able to use Sweet Treat and Sweet Feast means that we will be severely limited in terms of recovering HP and FP. Basically, our only source of healing will be the hearts and flowers dropped after battle, levelups, and items that you bring down or find in the Pit (Bingos, too, but those aren't exactly consistent). All this may seem pretty daunting, but with some savvy badge choices and good preparation, it's very manageable.

You can challenge the Pit whenever you like, but if you want to have the easiest time, you'll probably want to do it after you complete the main story. If you're going for 100%, it's even pretty efficient to wait until after the story, as the "Erase that graffiti!" Trouble that requires you to reach floor 50 of the Pit is only unlocked after you finish Chapter 8 (if you're going for it, make sure you accept the trouble AND talk to the guy in Fahr Outpost before you enter the Pit). The later rewards (60+) from the Pit are pretty underwhelming, so you're not missing out on much if you wait until the end. But if you want to try earlier, it's very much possible. Some hardcore people even do the whole Pit in the Prologue, so you definitely can do it earlier than the postgame if you'd like. That being said, my guide will assume that you're in the postgame, have all partners fully upgraded, have access to all badges, and that you have the Strange Sack unlocked already.

To start with, let's get our inventory ready. As this is our final challenge, we'll want to go all-out with our healing items - if you have any Ultra Shrooms or Jammin' Jellies left over, now's the time to bring them. You might want to use them in a Recipe first, though, just so you don't have to buy more than you need to later. Whacka Bumps are also a good choice - cook them with a Golden Leaf to create a Zess Deluxe, which heals 40 HP and 40 FP. Bringing an attack item or two could also be a good idea, just in case you need to get yourself out of a bad situation. Shooting Stars or a Zess Dynamite (just don't throw it at a Bob-ulk) are probably your best bet. Also, make sure you bring several (3-5) Life Shrooms. If you have the Strange Sack, you should be able to bring more than enough healing items - I myself barely used any until the Bonetail fight (albeit thanks to an incredibly clutch Mover on Floor 91).

You can also go to Merlee in the Rogueport Underground and get the Special Path. This is more than worth the 50 coins, as it will occasionally boost the damage you deal, reduce the damage you take, or increase the coins or Star points you get from battle. These are all very useful, needless to say. It also lasts for quite a while too.

Next, we'll need to work on our badge setup. Here are some notes on Badges:

  • I would recommend, if you haven't already, pressing Z in the badge menu to sort by BP required. This will group all of the Danger badges next to each other, to help you remember NOT to equip them.
  • As I've stated before, I usually like to run a Jump-focused build. Power Bounce is fantastic, as always. Multibounce is very useful here - often enough, a Multibounce and Power Shell / Shell Slam combo will wipe the whole enemy team. Power Jump is also worth bringing for high-Defense enemies.
  • If you're going to use a Jump build, Spike Shield is a must. Some enemies, especially the flying Spiky Parabuzzy OR Dark Koopatrol are awful to deal with without Spike Shield, and Power Bounce is very useful for taking down tough spiky enemies like the Piranha Plant or Dark Bristle. Ice Power is useful too, although to a more limited extent.
  • You're going to want to equip some sort of power-boosting badge. I myself like Jumpman and P-Up D-Down (and P), as they require less BP.
  • Heart Finder and Flower Finder are VERY helpful (borderline essential, even) for this run. These will drop increased hearts and flowers after battle, which will probably be our main source of healing.
  • Flower Saver and Flower Saver P are also VERY helpful. Over the course of the run, they will save you dozens (if not hundreds) of FP. I usually run 1 Flower Saver and 2 Flower Saver Ps. This will make a Multibounce + Power Shell combo (which will get you quite far) only 2 FP.
  • Quick Change is very good, as always. Being able to switch partners on the fly to deal with different situations is especially valuable in the Pit.
  • Simplifiers can help with making Power Bounce and running away more consistent. And we don't need SP anyways, so the downside doesn't matter.
  • I usually don't equip Defense badges, but they could be very useful in reducing the damage you take on the earlier floors, where defense-piercing attacks are less common. Depending on your level, you'll likely be going from floor 1-70 with 0 or 1 levelups, so shaving 1 damage off of every attack you take might really add up in the long run. Damage Dodge might also be a good option for fewer BP, if you're good at Guarding. Just don't equip Defense Plus with P-up D-Down - you might as well just equip Power Plus and save a BP.
  • HP Plus and FP Plus are obviously very useful if you can spare the BP. Just note that they don't heal you when you equip them.
  • Pretty Lucky or Pretty Lucky P could be useful - they'll effectively reduce the total damage you take by 10%. On Floor 90, you'll find Lucky Day, which reduces the enemies' chance to hit by 25%. At 7 BP, though, it's probably too steep a price to consider using. (You can get a 19% chance to miss for 4 BP with 2 Pretty Luckys, anyway). Remember, DO NOT USE CLOSE CALL.
  • Double Dip might be good in a pinch, but is probably less useful when clearing the floors, as we will not be using items as much. It could be worth equipping it for Bonetail, though.
  • Don't bother with HP or FP Drain, they're not worth it. Maybe if it were 1 HP per hit instead of per attack, it would be decent, but as it stands it's too much of a downside for a pitiful reward.
  • Speaking of pitiful, Pity Flower is probably not worth the 3 BP either. You'll be much better off equipping Flower Finder or Flower Saver.
  • Of course, Super Appeal and Super Appeal P are useless for this run, as is Unsimplifier (unless you're a masochist).
  • Zap Tap is situationally very useful, as it will prevent enemies from latching on and sucking HP. This will be very useful against Swampires in the 90s. Zap Tap is found on Floor 30 of the Pit, if you don't have it already.
  • If you're really sweaty, you could change your badge setup before every battle to minmax your strengths against the specific enemies, but this isn't necessary for the most part. It may be worth it for specific battles in the 90-99 range, though.

Once you're ready, go ahead and enter the Pit. Each floor has 1 visible enemy, and 3 or 4 possible enemy configurations. Make sure to keep that list handy, as well as this bestiary to take a look at enemy stats. The enemies are susceptible to a First Strike, so try to get one if you can (try for a Spin Jump to do some free extra damage!). Every 10 levels there's a reward room, where you can leave if you want.

Floors 1-60 are probably not going to cause you too much trouble at this point. Here's some notes on them, and the Pit in general:

  • Here's a very helpful Youtube playlist that shows the attacks of every enemy in the game. It's presented as a "Superguarding guide," but feel free to use it just to see how the attacks work or for the normal Guard timing.
  • You will come across many enemies exclusive to the Pit. Make sure you Tattle them, as you won't want to have to make another trip to get one that you missed.
  • If you're able to defeat all the enemies in 1 turn (Multibounce + Power Shell / Shell Slam will often do it), then go for it. The HP you save from not getting hit multiple times is usually worth the FP you spend, especially the further you go.
  • If you can't defeat all the enemies in 1 turn, then it may be worth focusing on defeating 1 or 2 of them to limit the damage that you take. Power Bounce comes in handy here - if your base power and timing are good enough, you can take down pretty much anything in 1 turn (although it gets a little dicey with the 90+ enemies).
  • Remember, running away is always an option. If you mess up an opening move or miss a First Strike, it may be a good idea to run away and try again, especially on the higher floors.
  • If you're in the postgame, you're likely at a high enough level that you won't be getting many Star Points. This will make things a bit more difficult, as we won't have any levelups to heal us until we're decently deep in the Pit. You will gain at least one Star Point every battle, though, so you could start at 30-40 Star Points to plan a level up somewhere in the 60s.
  • Every once in a while, you'll find a small guy called a Mover, who can take you down 5 floors for 30 coins. This is almost always worth it - just make sure you don't skip past a reward you haven't obtained, or floor 50 if you're doing the "Erase that graffiti!" Trouble.
  • If a Bandit steals something from you and gets away, the battle won't count as completed and you'll have to start the floor all over again. Guarding or the Zap Tap badge will stop them from stealing.
  • Try to conserve your healing items as much as you can at this point, but don't sweat it if you need to use some during this part. This first stretch without levelups is a long battle of attrition, so do your best to top yourself up with Flower Finder and Heart Finder and try to end battles quickly so you don't take too much damage.
  • If you're doing the "Erase that graffiti!" Trouble, make sure you don't skip Floor 50. You'll find the graffiti on the left side of the room, and you can blow it away with Bobbery.

Floors 61-79 aren't too much harder, but things definitely start to pick up. Here's some tips for them:

  • When fighting the Dark Lakitu, MAKE SURE you Tattle both him and the blue Spiny that he throws. It's very easy to miss (no, I'm not mad).
  • Depending on your level going in, you'll probably start gaining SP in the 70s (Chapter 8 enemies), which will honestly help a lot.
  • Depending on your badge setup, you might still be able to use the Multibounce / Power Shell combo to defeat all enemies in one turn. At this point (especially in the 70s), enemies may start having higher Defense, so Shell Slam might be a better option. Remember, DO NOT use Earth Tremor.

Levels 81-89 are where things start to get difficult. At this point, you'll start facing enemies that can dish out tons of damage, especially if there's 4 or 5 of them. You should be leveling up a decent amount (which will help), but make sure that you keep an eye on your health.

  • At this point, you may not be able to defeat all of the enemies in 1 turn. Refer to the bestiary - you may be able to take down Spunias or Dark Bristles with Multibounce + Shell Slam, but probably not Arantulas or Piranha Plants unless you've gone all-in on power badges. Because of that, it might be worth trying to focus a single enemy to take them down instead of doing medium damage to all enemies, in order to limit the amount of damage you're taking. Enemies on this floor will do 7-9 damage by default, so 4 or 5 of them will do 30+ damage every turn. Mario's Power Bounce and Goombella's Multibonk (or Rally Wink, so Mario can Power Bounce again) are probably the best options, if you can hit them. Just make sure you're using Spike Shield (which I would recommend for these floors anyways, as we have many spiky enemies).
  • Because enemies are doing so much damage, it might be worth going for a Superguard instead of a Guard (unless you've stacked up on Damage Dodges or something). If you hit one Superguard, it saves as much damage as 7-8 Guards, so I'd say it's worth trying. Refer to the Superguarding guide playlist for timings. I found that Spunias and Dark Bristles were decently easy to superguard. Remember that Simplifiers increase the Superguard window too!
  • On that note, I'd say that Simplifiers are definitely worth using from now on if you aren't already. You get more consistent Power Bounces and easier Superguards, and the downside of decreased SP gain doesn't even matter because we're not using Special Moves anyways.
  • Remember, running away is sometimes a good option. You can use it to Tattle enemies without taking more attacks than you need to, or run away if you don't get a First Strike.

Levels 91-99 have some of the toughest enemies in the game. These enemies have high damage output, high health pools, and most of them have high Defense. I'd recommend taking a look at the enemy layouts and bestiary to know what you're contending with.

  • The good news is that you can unequip Spike Shield, as there are no more spiky enemies for the rest of the Pit.
  • You may run into an Amazy Dayzee (or 2) on a floor. These should be your highest priority to eliminate - they have 20 attack, hit both party members, and their attack has a chance to put you to sleep, which can be disastrous. Plus, they give a ton of Star Points, so they will help you level up and heal. Use Mario's Power Bounce to try and take them down in one turn. If there are 2, use Power Bounce and Multibonk or Rally Wink. It might be worth equipping Feeling Fine if you're going to fight one, as despite the description, it prevents sleep too.
  • Many of these enemies are quite susceptible to Flurrie's Gale Force (see the Mario Wiki page for mechanics). Elite Wizzerds and Swampires have a 75% susceptibility, and Poison Puffs have an 85% susceptibility. Note that this chance is modified by -1% for each level below the enemy you are, and these enemies are level 34-36. Still, it might be a good idea to open with Gale Force and likely clear out a few of them, especially if you have 5 Elite Wizzerds or 4 Poison Puffs. You even get Star Points for enemies you defeat this way (for some reason, I thought you didn't).
  • Remember you can always run away to reset if things get dicey, or even less than ideal. I would highly recommend using the Tattle and run combo to get these enemies.
  • If you equip Zap Tap, Swampires will be unable to damage Mario at all. They can still attack your partner, but even so, this will make them a lot less annoying to deal with.
  • The Bob-ulks might seem scary, but they aren't too big of a deal. A few Power Shells or Shell Slams will take care of them nicely. Just make sure that you don't hit them with a fire attack or explosion attack.
  • MAKE SURE you keep track of the floor numbers, especially as you get closer to 100. You're going to want to heal and change your badge setup before you fight Bonetail, and the fight begins automatically when you enter Floor 100.

Bonetail is probably the hardest single fight in the game (Unless you fight the Shadow Queen with Double Pain equipped, but who would do something as silly as that?). That being said, his damage output per turn is quite low compared to what we've been going through the past 20 floors, so with a few strong healing items and careful play, he shouldn't be too hard to take down. If you've come this far, then you've made it through the hard part.

(N.B. If you remember Bonetail being female, you're not wrong! For whatever reason, Bonetail is male in the original English version and is female in every other version, including the English remake.)

As I said earlier, you'll probably want to change your badge setup before you fight Bonetail. Here are my notes:

  • WHHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EQUIP ANY DANGER BADGES. DO NOT EQUIP CLOSE CALL. DO NOT EQUIP LAST STAND. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT MEGA RUSH P. IN FACT, GO TO YOUR BADGE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, PRESS Z, AND SORT BY BP USED. THIS WILL GROUP ALL OF YOUR DANGER BADGES TOGETHER. AVOID THIS AREA. ERASE THIS AREA FROM YOUR MIND. THIS AREA DOES NOT EXIST TO YOU.
  • You can now unequip Heart Finder and Flower Finder to free up some BP. You can also unequip Spike Shield and Ice Power if you still have them on. Multibounce can also come off, although I would definitely keep Power Bounce. Bonetail is completely immune to all status effects except Burn, so if you have any status attacks, those should come off. Zap Tap can come off too, since Bonetail will not be making contact with Mario with the strategy below.
  • Use your newly-found BP to equip power-boosting badges. Defense badges won't be too useful - the strategy below means that Mario will only be hit by Bonetail's fire breath, which pierces Defense anyways.
  • Feeling Fine might also be a good option (despite the description, it makes you immune to almost every status - the notable exceptions being burn and freeze), although Guarding produces the same effect.
  • I would equip the Simplifiers if you haven't already - they'll make it easier to Guard Bonetail's breath attack and avoid the statuses.
  • I would recommend equipping 2 Flower Saver Ps, as that means you'll be able to spam Flurrie's Lip Lock for just 1 FP.
  • Double Dip might be good for a pinch, but you should probably be able to get by without it, especially if you have any Life Shrooms left.
  • You might be able to get by without Quick Change if you need the BP, as we'll be using Flurrie for the majority. It's still nice to have, though.

Once you're prepared and healed, go down the pipe to challenge Bonetail. The fight will begin immediately, so don't enter the pipe until you're ready.

  • DURING THE FIGHT, DO NOT USE SPECIAL MOVES. DO NOT USE POWER LIFT. DO NOT USE SWEET FEAST. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT CLOCK OUT (it's useless against Bonetail, anyway). THE SPACE BETWEEN ITEMS AND TACTICS ON MARIO'S MENU DOES NOT EXIST.
  • Bonetail has a massive 200 HP, 8 Attack (honestly, not too bad, especially since there's only one of him), and 2 Defense. When his HP gets low, he'll heal for 20 HP twice, effectively giving him 240 HP total. Because we don't have access to buffs or Peril Strat shenanigans, we'll have to fight him the old-fashioned way, with consistent, sustained damage.
  • Bonetail has 3 attacks: a quick bite, a slower stomp, and a breath attack that hits both party members, pierces Defense, and can inflict a few nasty statuses (sleep, confuse, shrink, and freeze, depending on the color). Thankfully, Bonetail's damage output isn't as high per turn as the floors we've been trekking through, so getting any of these conditions isn't automatically run-ending. It's not ideal, though, so try and Guard Bonetail's breath attack if you can.
  • On the first turn, go ahead and Tattle with Goombella. The Tattle isn't missable, but being able to see Bonetail's HP will be nice.
  • After that, put Flurrie in front and have her use Lip Lock. Lip Lock pierces Defense and heals Flurrie for the damage dealt. What that means is that she will be able to tank Bonetail's attacks, keep herself reasonably healthy, and do decent damage all at the same time. If you have 2 Flower Saver Ps on, it will only cost 1 FP, and depending on your partner's power boost, it will do 6+ damage.
  • While she's doing that, have Mario whale away with Power Bounce or Spin Jump, whichever you prefer. If Mario or Flurrie get low, or you get low on FP, go ahead and heal. This is the final battle, so don't be afraid to go all-out with healing items.
  • And that's pretty much it! Guard the fire breath, use Lip Lock with Flurrie, Power Bounce / Spin Jump with Mario, and heal as needed, and you'll have it in the bag. You'll have to keep it up for a while to whittle down Bonetail's 240 HP, but there aren't any more surprises or nasty tricks.
  • If you're running low on healing items, consider using Dodgy Fog on Mario, which will allow him to avoid 50% of attacks.

Once you've defeated Bonetail, make sure to open the chest he gives you. The Badge you get is pretty underwhelming, but it is unique, so pick it up unless you loved the Pit so much you want to go through it again!

Congratulations! You've conquered the hardest challenge in Paper Mario: the Thousand-Year Door, with a pretty significant restriction on top! If you're still not satisfied, feel free to check out the legendary Pre-Hooktail Pit challenge (or the ludicrous Prologue Pit), which would honestly make a pretty cool subset.

(Thanks to Leviathan01, Zomoroko, Xelrog, TrashCity, and PaddyShade for their contributions in the comments! And my sincere thanks to jaqqqln, BlitzsBeast, weeps, and firkinblin for their warnings in the comments - I've tried to make sure that anyone reading my guide doesn't lose hours of progress like they unfortunately did.)

Step 3: 100% Completion / Overworld Items | Total points: 277 

Time to Shine (10)
Upgrade every partner to Super Rank.

Shining Even Further (25)
Upgrade every partner to Ultra Rank.

You are able to get all of the Shine Sprites by the time you reach Fahr Outpost in Chapter 7. You have enough to Ultra-rank all of your partners, so don't worry about missing out on anyone. If you're missing any Shine Sprites, Merluvlee in the Rogueport Underground can help you find them.

Keep in mind that you'll also have to have recruited Ms. Mowz to get both of these achievements.

Rogueport Scavenger (10)
Collect all items in Rogueport.

Rogueport areas:

Rogueport Rogueport Underground

As TrashCity states in the comments, this doesn't include any of the reward items from the Pit of 100 Trials. You are first able to get this achievement after obtaining the Ultra Boots in Chapter 6.

There is one Hidden Block in Rogueport, in the room to the right of the Thousand-Year Door. It's straight down from the tiny hole in the wall.

Rogueport Hidden Block

Over the Meadows (10)
Collect all items in Chapter 1 areas.

Chapter 1 areas:

Petal Meadows Petalburg Path to Shhwonk Fortress Shhwonk Fortress Hooktail Castle

This achievement can first be earned after Chapter 3, as apparently you need Yoshi to grab a coin in Petal Meadows. Furthermore, there are a few Star Pieces that require Spin Jump. The game really loves making you go back to Hooktail Castle, though, so you might as well wait until after Chapter 5 when you go grab the Up Arrow to get all the things you missed. As key items don't count, the Up Arrow doesn't count for this achievement, and I'm pretty sure the badge Ms. Mowz asks you to get doesn't count either (it is a key item until she gives it back to you).

No Hidden Blocks in this Chapter!

Through the Woods (10)
Collect all items in Chapter 2 areas.

Chapter 2 areas:

Boggly Woods The Great Tree

You could get this on your first time through Chapter 2, although you'd have to backtrack out to Flurrie's house after getting the Super Boots. It's probably easier to just come back once you're done.

There are two Hidden Blocks in this Chapter. One is in the Boggly woods in the room with the tall pipe and airplane panel. In the background, jump in front of the tenth tree from the left to find a hidden block containing a Badge.

Boggly Woods hidden block

The second is located inside the Great Tree, in the zigzag room with the Piders. Directly below the red ? block, there is a hidden block containing a single coin (still counts) that you can hit with Koops.

Great Tree hidden block

The Spoils of Champions (5)
Collect all items in Chapter 3 areas.

Chapter 3 areas:

Glitzville Glitz Pit

You can get this on your first run through Chapter 3, but there are a few items to look out for. First of all, there's an Ice Storm in the top left corner of the Major League locker room. Second, as scatter notes in the comments, there are two Star Pieces in Grubba/Jolene's office - one in one of the desk drawers, and one behind a plant in the bottom left corner. These items are not missable, but in order to access these locations at will, you'll have to rank back up through the Glitz Pit, which can be tedious. If you missed the Star Pieces in Jolene's office, there are several opportunities to get back in there. When you first return to the Glitz Pit, you'll be able to enter to talk to Jolene about competing again, and during the "Help wanted!" and "I need my magazine." Troubles, available after Chapter 3 and Chapter 6, respectively, you'll have access to Jolene's office to talk to her. Thankfully, Jolene doesn't seem to mind you rifling through her desk drawers right in front of her, so go ahead and grab those Star Pieces if you missed them the first time. If you've missed these opportunities, though, the only way to get back into her office is to go through the Champion's room. If you missed the Ice Storm, you'll have to rank back up as well. Note that you can lose the fight to Rawk Hawk (just run away) to rank back down to the major leagues if you need to.

There's one Hidden Block in Glitzville, right underneath the Shine Sprite. Just whack it with your hammer!

Glitzville Hidden Block

Cat-Eyed (10)
Collect all items in Chapter 4 areas.

Chapter 4 areas:

Twilight Town Twilight Trail Creepy Steeple

You can get this on your first run through. As jaqqqln notes, the Ultra Shroom you get for correctly answering the Boo's question isn't required, and there is a coin block in the shed where you find the black key that's easy to miss.

As firkinblin notes, there are three Hidden Blocks in this Chapter. The first one is in the Twilight Trail, in the second area coming from Twilight Town. Located above another ? block, it contains a Super Shroom.

Twilight Trail Hidden Block 1

The second one is also in Twilight Trail, in the area where you need to push a boulder. Left of the first hole, there's a hidden coin block that's partially obscured by a tree.

Twilight Trail Hidden Block 2

The third Hidden Block is located on the steps in front of Creepy Steeple, above the fourth step from the top. It contains a single coin. Imagine hearing about this special secret from Wonky, making the trek from Rogueport all the way to Creepy Steeple and getting a single coin for your trouble.

Creepy Steeple Hidden Block

Secrets of Keelhaul Island (10)
Collect all items in Chapter 5 areas.

Chapter 5 areas:

Keelhaul Key Pirate's Grotto

You're able to get this on the first run-through. If you have Ms. Mowz, she will be an invaluable asset if you're trying to get these achievements on your first run through. There are 4 Hidden Blocks in this Chapter.

The first is one you need to find to progress - it's above the ? block on the ground. You'll have to use it with Yoshi to get across.

Keelhaul Key Hidden Block 1

The second is a well-hidden one directly above the first. You can either use a Spring Jump from the previous one (after Chapter 6), or come from the top and use either a Bobbery explosion or Mario's Super Hammer.

Keelhaul Key Hidden Block 2

The next two are in Pirate's Grotto. The first you can find in the staircase-like room. Use Koops to reveal a hidden block next to the Shine Sprite.

Pirate's Grotto Hidden Block 1

The second is also right near a Shine Sprite, in the room before the hallway with Bill Blasters. The block is right underneath - just hit it with your hammer.

Pirate's Grotto Hidden Block 2

Boy, You're Rich! (5)
Collect all items in Chapter 6 areas.

Chapter 6 areas:

Excess Express Riverside Station Poshley Heights

You can get this one on your first time through the Chapter. If you need to return to Riverside Station, you can take another trip on the Excess Express. As Eggman notes in the comments, the Express is actually different depending on which way it's going, so there is a Star Piece that's only accessible when traveling from Rogueport to Poshley Heights, and not the other way around.

There's only one Hidden Block in Chapter 6, located in Riverside Station. In the outside portion near the Poison Pokeys, it's above a ? Block.

Riverside hidden block

To the Moon and Back (10)
Collect all items in Chapter 7 areas.

Chapter 7 areas:

Path to Fahr Outpost Fahr Outpost Moon X-Naut Fortress

This achievement can be earned during your first run of the Chapter. If you don't, you'll have to wait until after Chapter 8 to return to the base. Despite TEC blowing up the moon base, it miraculously survives and you can revisit it using the teleporter in the Rogueport Underground. Also note that once you beat Magnus Von Grapple 2.0, the base will lock down and you won't be able to return to the Moon's surface until you come back in the postgame. The coins on the crane game also don't seem to count for the achievement (I got them all anyway, because I'm paranoid). Make sure you grab the badges and Star Piece, though.

There's one Hidden Block in Chapter 7, located on the Path to Fahr Outpost. On the screen you exit the pipe, it's in front of the rightmost tree.

Fahr Hidden Block

(Thanks to user EmilyYohane for her clarification on returning to the Moon)

Thousand Year Old Treasures (5)
Collect all items in Chapter 8 areas.

Chapter 8 areas:

Palace of Shadow Palace of Shadow Tower

NOTE THAT THIS ACHIEVEMENT IS MISSABLE

The only missable items are in one location, though. In Gloomtail's room after his fight, there is an easily-missed crack in the right wall you can blow up with Bobbery. Inside, there is an Ultra Shroom and a Jammin' Jelly. Make sure you get these immediately after defeating Gloomtail, as once you put all of the keys into the Palace of Shadow Tower, Gloomtail's lair becomes inaccessible.

Other than that, though, no items are missable. You can re-enter the Palace of Shadow through the Thousand-Year Door at any time after beating the game. Note that in this chapter especially there are many differences item-wise between the original and the Switch remake, so be very careful if you're reading the Mario Wiki article I linked above.

If you're using Ms. Mowz, she might indicate there are items in the hallways leading up to Gloomtail before you fight him. Don't worry, she's just (I assume) locating items that are underneath the floor that will be revealed once the rooms transform.

There are two Hidden Blocks in this Chapter. The first is in the room with all of the Fire Bars. 2 Fire Bars will rotate around a pedestal, and above that pedestal there is a Hidden Block containing a Boo's Sheet.

Palace of Shadow Hidden Block 1

The second is located in one of the mechanical hallways. Above a grounded ? Block containing a coin, there's a Hidden Block containing a Point Swap.

Palace of Shadow Hidden Block 2

(Thanks to whitekirby9 and Griffin for their warnings in the comments)

Dazzling in the Dark (25)
Collect all 100 Star Pieces.

You will probably get this when going for the "Collect all items" achievements, as Star Pieces typically count as items for that purpose. If you're missing any, you can talk to Merluvlee in the Rogueport Underground to find the ones you're missing.

Note that 100 Star Pieces will let you buy all of the badges Dazzle offers, so don't worry about missing out!

Boy Scout Mario (10)
Collect half of all badges in the game.

Badges of Honor (25)
Collect every badge in the game.

To earn this, you'll need to obtain at least 1 copy of every badge in the game. To see which ones you're missing, go to the Journal in the pause menu. You can compare with this list on Mario Wiki to see the ones you're missing (sort by number) and how to get them.

I Cook-A Da Pasta (25)
Cook every recipe in the game.

This one's going to be a grind. I recommend speedup, and having the Bump Attack badge (Floor 80 of the Pit) before you run around to collect ingredients. Note that you need to actually cook the dishes, finding them some other way doesn't count. I can highly recommend this Completionist Checklist to keep track of what you've cooked and what ingredients you need to get still. When you make a copy, make sure that you change the folder to your own Drive, otherwise it will say you don't have permission. Also, when you're filling it out for the first time, you can sort the in-game Journal alphabetically to make it easier.

Here's a list of all the ingredients you need, where to get them, and approximately how many you'll need, depending on what recipes you use. Make sure you look at the spreadsheet to see what you specifically need.

Things you can buy in Rogueport:

  • 14 Cake Mix, from the Pianta Parlor (including 1 for a Trouble)
  • 2 Dried Shroom, from the West Rogueport shop.
  • 4 Fire Flower, from the Rogueport Square Shop
  • 7 Honey Syrup, from the Rogueport Square shop
  • 4 Jammin' Jelly, from the Rogueport Underground shop. They're kinda steep, though, so hopefully you have some left over. The Pianta Parlor also sells them.
  • 2 Life Shroom, from the West Rogueport shop (including 1 for a Trouble)
  • 8 Mushroom, from Rogueport Square shop, including 1 to cook Space Food (you can use any healing item).
  • 3 Slow Shroom, from the Rogueport Underground Shop.
  • 3 Super Shroom, from the West Rogueport shop.
  • 4 Ultra Shroom, from the Rogueport Underground shop. They're kinda steep, though, so hopefully you have some left over. The Pianta Parlor also sells them.
  • 1 Volt Shroom (not listed under Electro Pop in the spreadsheet), from the West Rogueport shop

Things you can buy at other Shops:

  • 6 Courage Shells (including 5 for a Trouble), sold in Petalburg
  • 3 Hot Sauce, bought in Glitzville after the "Securty code..." Trouble post-Chapter 6. You'll need to make 2 Inky Sauces.
  • 3 Ice Storm, bought in the Great Tree, Keelhaul Key, or Fahr Outpost.
  • 5 Fresh Pasta, bought for 50 coins in Poshley Heights. If you wanted to save some money, you could cook Spaghetti and Koopasta, then add the Inky Sauce to the Spaghetti and the Hot Sauce to the Koopasta, saving you from having to buy 2 Fresh Pasta.
  • 5 Maple Syrup, bought in Twilight Town, the Excess Express, or Fahr Outpost.
  • 1 Point Swap, bought in Glitzville.
  • 1 Ruin Powder, bought in Fahr Outpost.
  • 1 Shooting Star, bought in Fahr Outpost.

Ingredients you have to find elsewhere:

  • 2 Coconut, found on Keelhaul Key.
  • 1 Dried Bouquet, from Bub-ulber in Petalburg after the "The Food I want." Trouble post-Chapter 3.
  • 4-6 Golden Leaf (including 1 for a Trouble), found in Creepy Steeple.
  • 1-2 Horsetail, found in Petal Meadows.
  • 3-4 Keel Mango (including 1 for a Trouble), found on Keelhaul Key after Chapter 5.
  • 5 Mystic Egg (including 1 for a Trouble), found by talking to Petuni in the Great Tree. You'll need to leave the area and come back to reset her.
  • 1-3 Peachy Peach, found by staying at the Inn in Twilight Town.
  • 6-7 Turtley Leaf, found outside Mayor Kroop's house in Petalburg.
  • 1 Whacka Bump, found by whacking Whacka on Keelhaul Key. If you don't have any left, you'll have to use another recipe for the Zess Deluxe.

Zess T recipes:

  • 1 Coconut Bomb (Coconut + Fire Flower)
  • 1 Couple's Cake (Snow Bunny + Spicy Soup)
  • 1 Egg Bomb (Mystic Egg + Fire FLower)
  • 2 Inky Sauce (Hot Sauce + Turtley Leaf)
  • 1 Mango Delight (Keel Mango + Cake Mix)
  • 1 Mousse Cake, for a Trouble (Cake Mix)
  • 1 Poison Shroom (Slow Shroom + Point Swap)
  • 1 Shroom Fry (Mushroom), or a Shroom Roast or Shroom Steak, if you prefer.
  • 1 Snow Bunny (Ice Storm + Golden Leaf)
  • 1 Spicy Soup (Fire Flower)
  • 1 Zess Dinner (Mushroom + Horsetail), or Zess Deluxe or Zess Special if you prefer.

And finally, you'll need to make a Mistake using anything that doesn't count as a valid Recipe.

Make sure you hang onto something you cook if it's in the Zess T recipes section above, otherwise it can be sold or used. Note that this list assumes you use the recipes linked in the spreadsheet, and that you don't need/want to make extra of anything except for the Inky Sauce (you'll need 2).

B-List Bliss (5)
Reach Level 10 and become a B-List star.

Where Everybody Knows Your Fame (10)
Reach Level 20 and become an A-List star.

You Are the Superstar! (10)
Reach Level 30 and become a Superstar.

If you don't reach level 30 by the end of the story, you definitely should by the end of the Pit of 100 Trials. If for some reason you still haven't, the easiest way to grind is probably either fighting Chapter 8 enemies or going to Twilight Trail to look for Amazy Dayzees.

Big Book of Mostly Everything (10)
Catalogue half of all tattles in the Tattle Log.

Tattler's Tales (25)
Catalogue every tattle in the Tattle Log.

Thankfully, no Tattles are missable. If you missed one, check the trash can in Professor Frankly's house and it will be added to your log. Otherwise, take a look at the Mario Wiki bestiary to see what you're missing.

If you missed any during the Pit of 100 Trials run (besides Bonetail), you'll unfortunately have to go back down and get it. You don't have to go all the way down, though - you can simply exit after you had the Tattles you need.

Troubling Request (2)
Complete your first trouble.

I Don't Mean to Trouble You (5)
Complete ten troubles.

But Are You in Trouble? (5)
Complete twenty troubles.

It's No Trouble At All (10)
Complete every trouble.

Here is a list of all the Troubles, and guides for each. I would recommend spacing these out throughout the story and not trying to do all of them at once. You'll also be backtracking quite a bit, so I would recommend taking the opportunity to work on the "collect all items" achievements if you didn't finish them before.

Step 4: Cleanup/Misc | Total points: 221 

Should I Remember This? (2)
Take the Toad kid's quiz on the Excess Express.

Any time after Chapter 6, there is a chance that a Toad Kid will be sitting in room 007, and will give you a quiz about the events of Paper Mario on the N64. If you don't get him, you can either finish the trip normally or reset the game to try again.

(Thanks to Leviathan01 in the comments)

Fortune's Favor (5)
Become charmed by Merlee's special path.

Merlee is a fortune teller found in the Rogueport Underground, accessible after Chapter 1. She is found in the pipe near the plane panel leading to Chapter 1, just go into the house in the background. For this achievement, you must buy the 50-coin "Special Path."

Merlee's charm will kick in randomly during and after battle, and will boost Mario's attack, defense, or the amount of Star Points or Coins earned after battle. The Special Path can be very useful during the Pit of 100 Trials.

Shopaholic (25)
Obtain 300 shop points.

As JaxonH99 states in the comments, the easiest way to get this is to go to the shop in West Rogueport and buy a whole bunch of Dried Shrooms and then immediately sell them. Turbo-A and speedup will help greatly. The shrooms buy for 2 coins and sell for 1, so you will need 1 coin per point (although if you sell the rewards you get too, you'll probably end up profiting). I would recommend doing this after you finish most of everything else (especially the recipe grind), so you get as many shop points to start with as you can. I would also recommend the Strange Sack from the Pit of 100 Trials, as it will make this process a lot less tedious.

RetroTippi in the comments mentions that Dried Shrooms sell in Twilight Town for 4 coins, meaning you can actually make a sizable profit by selling them there. If you're grinding this at the very end it's probably not worth the time, as you should be swimming in coins anyway. But if you need to grind extra coins for whatever reason, it's a decent option.

Just Another Nap (25)
Sleep at inns a total of 50 times for a reward.

The easiest way to do this is to go to the Rogueport Inn and Turbo-A and speedup through the dialogue. You'll need at least 250 coins for this achievement, but they will give you 200 coins as a present after you're done, so you won't need to end up spending too much in the long run. I would recommend doing this achievement as late as possible, to get as many inn stays as you can naturally.

Shifty Grifty (5)
Listen to all of Grifty's tales.

Grifty is found on the rooftops of East Rogueport, next to a green umbrella. He charges 5 coins per tale, and has 16 of them, meaning you will need 80 coins to hear them all. Not all tales are accessible at first, meaning you will need to wait until the beginning of Chapter 8 for this achievement.

Wise Wonky Wisdom (5)
Listen to all of Wonky's stories.

Wonky is found in the Rogueport Underground. He's the big egg-shaped guy in the bar area to the left of the item shop. He has 39 tales, each of which cost 5 coins (for a total of 195). His Tales don't unlock all at once, though - you'll need to come back in the postgame to hear them all. If you're grinding them all out at the same time, Turbo-A plus speedup can help you get through if you don't care about listening to him.

Paper Luigi (25)
Purchase all 5 Super Luigi books.

The Super Luigi books will start appearing in the Rogueport Square shop starting after Chapter 4. After clearing each additional chapter, a new volume will be added. The first volume sells for 64 coins, the next three for 128, and the final one, available after beating the game, sells for 256. All told, you'll need 704 coins to purchase all five volumes.

Pianta Precision (5)
Match 7-7-7 on the slots to win a jackpot of Piantas.

There are two ways to do this. The first way is to learn the timing. As SleeplessSP in the comments states, the reels run in cycles, with 4 green Don Piantas, 3 blue stars, and 1 orange 7. Each panel is on screen for three frames (.05 seconds at 60 FPS). Once you press A, it stops the reel after two frames. What you want to do, then, is look for the orange flash and press A very slightly BEFORE it shows up. If you practice, you can hopefully get consistent enough to do it three times in a row. Here is a good video to watch if you would prefer a visualization.

The other method is trying to brute force it through RNG. As FerretPlayingPS4 states in the comments, assuming the reels are stopped completely randomly, there is a (1/8)^3, or .195% chance that you get 3 7s. That's 1/512. The best way to grind it is to put on speedup and keep mashing A, taking it off speedup to collect the piantas when you win. It's probably best not to use Turbo, because we don't really want to press the button consistently if we're aiming for randomness. Apparently the machine's expected value is 120 piantas out for every 100 you put in (one wonders how Don Pianta can stay in business), so you should on average be profiting. This method is probably less efficient (and probably more annoying) than trying to time your presses, but it's there if you're unwilling or unable to get the hang of the timing.

Overshooting the Opposition (5)
Attain a distance greater than 375.14 in the Plane Game.

Advanced Aviation (25)
Finish the Plane Game with 40 or more Piantas tokens collected.

In order to play the Plane Game, you'll have to find the Special Card by completing the "Try to find me!" Trouble, available after Chapter 1. This Trouble requires you to go deep into Hooktail's Castle, so you might want to do it while trying to get the Up Arrow after Chapter 5 to save yourself a trip. Unfortunately, you can't combine it with the Trouble to unlock Ms. Mowz, as you can only have one Trouble active at a time.

In the comments, jaqqqln shared this Reddit post and accompanying video that gives a good general strategy (even though it's for the remake, the strategy works for the original as well). Using this strategy, you should easily be able to get well beyond 375.

The hard part is getting 40+ Piantas. As jaqqqln points out, there's only one really feasible way to do this: at around 450, there's a large -20 panel, but beyond it, there's a X3 multiplier panel that moves around in a loop. If you can get right past the -20 panel and hit that x3 multiplier, you'll clear 40 Piantas. If you practice, you should get a technique down to clear 450, and then it's just a matter of hitting the ground when the 3x multiplier is in place. The movement of all the panels doesn't reset when you continue the plane game, so you just have to keep trying until you get a good cycle.

If you're still having trouble, here are some more tips:

  • zomblified in the comments notes that you only want to tilt the stick left and neutral, and you want to limit the time you have the stick pointed fully left to avoid killing your momentum.
  • zomblified also recommends changing the timing based on how much speed you gained, as your momentum isn't entirely based on the curve you just did, but is to some degree cumulative over the entire flight. I'm not sure it's fully necessary - maintaining a pretty consistent rhythm worked well enough for me, but it might be something to try if you are consistently coming up short.
  • As you're approaching the ground, you can tilt left more rapidly to stall your descent, or hold left to stop yourself completely and drop straight down. This can be useful for timing your hit on the 3x multiplier.
  • I might also recommend checking out the achievement comments for this one, as many users have shared strategies and additional resources.

All in all, this is definitely the hardest Pianta Parlor achievement and one of the hardest in the set. If you're burning yourself out grinding it, try doing something else and come back later.

Distort8936 notes that in the Boat and Tube Game playing at 50Hz in the European version produces some wonky effects (I assume with the timer). I'm not sure if the Plane Game has similar quirks, but it's probably worth playing on the 60Hz mode just to be safe.

Flapping in the Wind (5)
Attain the first place ranking in the Paper Game.

To play the Paper Game, you'll need to get the Silver Card from the "Help my Daddy!" Trouble accessible after Chapter 2. In this game, the idea is to run in Paper Mode when the fans are blowing and run in regular mode when the fans are off. You might start out be looking at the fans in the background, but there's an easier way: when the wind is blowing little dots appear on the field showing which direction the wind is blowing. Focusing on these dots has two benefits: it lets you keep an eye on the obstacles, and it shows you when you actually need to enter Paper Mode. Most of your opponents will enter Paper Mode as soon as the fans start spinning, but you actually have about a second before the wind gets strong enough to move you. If you take advantage of these few extra seconds, you should finish far ahead of the rest of the pack and easily earn this achievement.

Swirling Obstacle Course (10)
Attain a remaining time greater than 2:13:20 in the Tube Game.

You can play the Tube Game with the Gold Card you get from the "Important thing!" Trouble accessible after Chapter 6.

This timing is a little bit tight, but is very doable with practice. The good news is that you don't need to optimize the first half of the race, as you have to wait for the moving platforms at the top anyways (something something, imagine a bus station...). Unless you're the Tube Game world record holder, you'll likely be going on the north platform if you make it there decently fast. Just don't completely fumble the staircase and don't fall off the thin path, and you'll be fine.

The second half is where you'll have to shave off some time to meet the requirements. Start by getting a running (rolling?) jump off the moving platform. Take the ramp down and then try to take the curve as tight as you can. At the end of the curve you might need to point the stick almost straight up to get yourself pointing the right way. Go through the hurdle, and if you manage to make it through without hitting one of them, you're probably home free. The sloped curve is relatively easy to navigate, and then it's a straight shot to the finish.

Distort8936 notes that if you're playing the European version, you're going to want to be on 60Hz mode, or else you'll have a bad time. Probably something to do with the timer.

Windward Whirlpools (10)
Attain a remaining time greater than 1:33:15 in the Boat Game.

You can play the Boat Game after obtaining the Platinum Card from the "I need my magazine" Trouble after Chapter 6.

I found this time limit surprisingly lenient after the Tube Game - I hit a couple whirlpools and still managed to finish in time. Just practice a few times, and it should be relatively easy.

Note that the whirlpools don't reset between runs, so each run will be different. This makes creating a consistent strategy difficult, but my advice is to try and take the corner as close as you can (hopefully the 4 small whirlpools cooperate) and stick close to the bottom for most of the rest.

Distort8936 notes that if you're playing the European version, you're going to want to be on 60Hz mode, or else you'll have a bad time. Probably something to do with the timer.

A Real Treat (5)
Recover at least 10 HP and 6 FP from the Sweet Treat special move.

This one is very easy, you'll probably get it without even trying. Note that the 10 HP is for Mario and his partner combined.

Gorged On Sweets (5)
Recover at least 40 HP and 18 FP from the Sweet Feast special move.

This one, on the other hand, is quite difficult. Like the previous achievement, the 40 HP is between Mario and his partner combined. You're going to need to hit almost all of the bonuses to get 40 HP and 18 FP, and that's assuming you get a pattern that will cooperate in the first place. In other words, you're going to need to have good luck and good execution for this one, but I came up with a strategy that mitigates the execution element somewhat. I noticed that I was often ending up with 35-39 HP, and found that it was because I was playing too cautiously trying to avoid the Poison Mushrooms. So I decided to throw caution to the wind and try a hybrid brute-force strategy.

  • Unlike Sweet Treat, if you hold the Control Stick left during Sweet Feast, Mario will continuously throw stars. As he does this, you might notice that he doesn't actually get all of the bonuses - some will slip through and be impossible to hit.
  • With that in mind, right after you activate Sweet Feast, just hold the stick left to spray as many stars as you can. You can use speedup too during this part, if you'd like. You'll get almost all of the bonuses, and probably hit a Poison Mushroom when it comes out, but that's okay. Just keep trying the same thing over multiple attempts. Eventually, you'll get a pattern where the first Poison Mushroom slips by, and now we're in business.
  • There are only 2 Poison Mushrooms during Sweet Feast, so now you can try throwing more cautiously to try and avoid the second Poison Mushroom. Try and get as many bonuses as you can still, but be sure that you miss the second Poison Mushroom. It shouldn't be too long before it appears. Once that one's past, resume spraying to get as many of the remaining bonuses as you can. If all goes well, you should have gotten the vast majority of the bonuses and hopefully put yourself over the threshold.
  • You could also go full spray-and-pray and wait for a pattern where both Poison Mushrooms slip by, but that would be a lot more unlikely and probably isn't worth it over the hybrid approach I outlined above.
  • The best way to grind multiple attempts is to equip a bunch of Super Appeals and Super Appeal Ps and go find some weak enemy somewhere. You can buy infinite Super Appeals from the Pianta Parlor (and you'll need 8-10 of them for another achievement). Once you use Sweet Feast, have Mario and his partner appeal until your SP is back up enough, then use Sweet Treat again. If you use speedup, you can get a pretty good rhythm going. I would recommend waiting to try this achievement until you have 7-8 SP, just to make it easier. If you really wanted to, you could also use an inn (such as the one in Petalburg) to grind progress for Just Another Nap, but there's an easier way to grind that achievement anyways.
  • If you're playing the European version, 50Hz mode makes things go a bit slower, and might make the execution part a little easier.

All in all, I found this strategy much less frustrating than trying to get it normally. If you're having trouble and feeling frustrated, give it a try!

Gold Star Gains (5)
Boost your attack and defense both by 3 in the Power Lift special move.

This one is also pretty tough, and like the last one, relies both on luck and execution. Sometimes you just won't have enough of both arrows (I can't remember how many times I ended up at 4/2), and sometimes you just won't be able to get to them in time. I don't have a perfect strategy for this one, but here are a few general tips:

  • Try to go for the arrows that are closest to your current position. The more time you spend with empty slots, the more arrows total you're going to get.
  • If you're waiting (typically for a bunch of Poison Mushrooms to disappear), go back to the middle so you can react faster to upcoming arrows.
  • When you're getting close to the end, take a quick glance at the stats to see if one of them is at 3 already. If it is, prioritize arrows for the other stat.
  • As with the Sweet Feast achievement, the easiest way to grind attempts is to equip a bunch of super appeals and alternate between appealing and using Power Lift. It's a little easier, since this move only uses 3 SP as opposed to 5.
  • If you're playing the European version, 50Hz mode makes things go a little bit slower, and might make the execution part a little easier.
Fan Freebie (3)
Receive an item from the Audience.

You'll likely get this one without even trying. Just note that if your inventory is full, the item will sail past you onto the floor.

I Like That Jump! (10)
Perform 15 consecutive Power Bounce jumps in any fight.

"15? I remember being pretty good at Power Bounce, so this shouldn't be that hard." - me, seconds before disaster

Hoo boy. This achievement probably singlehandedly takes this set up a point or two in the difficulty rating. To figure out why, let's take a look at this website which shows the timings for Power Bounce (scroll down to TTYD).

As you can see, the first hit of Power Bounce normally requires you to hit an 8-frame window. Each hit after that, the window decreases by 1 frame until you reach a 1-frame window on the 8th hit and every hit beyond. Now, what this means is that under normal conditions, in order to reach 15 hits, you would have to do 8 frame-perfect A presses in a row. Thankfully, there are a few things we can do to make this a little easier. First, the Rogueport Badge Shop sells 2 Simplifier badges that make all Action Commands easier. Notably for Power Bounce, having 2 Simplifiers equipped makes it so only bounces 11+ are frame perfect, cutting it from 8 to 5 frame-perfect inputs. 5 is still a lot, don't get me wrong, but it's orders of magnitude easier than 8. If you're playing on the European version, you can switch to 50Hz mode to increase the length of the frames and make them slightly easier to hit. Do note that this will change the timing, so if you're used to doing it on the 60Hz mode, you'll have to adjust. After that, it's all up to you. Here's a few tips:

  • The first Simplifier is available from the start, but the second seems to only be available after Chapter 6. If you played on the USA version like I did and are thinking about starting over, keep that in mind. I'll leave it up to you to decide if it's worth it.
  • I would recommend practicing a lot, but not necessarily grinding a lot. What I mean by that is, while you're doing other things like Troubles, recipes or the Story, try Power Bouncing enemies on your way, but don't just sit in Petal Meadows massacring Goombas for hours on end. One, you'll burn yourself out, and two, you might as well make some progress on the other parts of the set.
  • What helped me most was focusing on the audio cues and getting into a rhythm. Either focus on the EXCELLENT! chime, or the noise that the crowd makes, and try and press A rhythmically. See this video of someone sitting in Petal Meadows massacring Goombas to see what I mean (note: this is the 60Hz timing).
  • The visual cue shouldn't be neglected, though. Some enemies are harder to visualize it on than others (or at least they were for me). I had particular trouble with Koopas and other enemies who flip over, as well as Spanias, who go into a weird shaking pose when you hit them that makes it difficult to see where thier hitbox is at. I had the most success with enemies that stay relatively still when you hit them, like Goombas, Hammer Bros, and Magikoopas (I eventually got mine on a Magikoopa in the Rogueport Sewers). User dericobanjo in the comments recommends trying a Spiky Goomba (you can always find one in the sewers under East Rogueport), as his spike hat serves as a good visual cue. Make sure you equip the Spike Shield badge, though.
  • All bosses have a soft cap on bounces. You usually won't be able to get more than 5-10 bounces even if your timing is perfect. No other enemies have a cap (well, technically it's 9999), so use it on whoever you'd like.
  • Eventually, you'll probably get to the point where you're able to do 9 or 10 bounces pretty consistently. Maybe 10% of the time, you'll get 11 bounces, maybe 5% of the time you'll get 12 or more. Trust me, this means you're almost there. When I got my 15 bounces, ~80% of my bounces were still ending at 10 (if that), but every once in a while I would have enough good vibes and good luck to get into the zone and go beyond 11. I failed at 14 once or twice before I got 15, and when I finally got it I even made it up to 16. So don't give up hope. If you're able to get to 11, 12, 13, or 14, you've definitely got the skills to make it to 15.
  • If you're getting stressed or burned out, definitely take a break. Getting the timing right is only going to get harder the more stressed you are. Do something else in game, play a different game, or, like Distort8936 recommends in the comments, get a good night's sleep and try again later.
  • In the entrance to the Pit of 100 Trials, there is a sign that lists your maximum number of Power Bounces. Take a look at it to see how close you've gotten, or to bask in your own glory after you get 15.
  • I would recommend taking a look through the achievement comments for this one, as other users may have shared additional strategies you might want to try.
The Crowd Goes Wild (10)
Perform any action in battle that awards more than 3 full bars of Star Power.

There are two ways to do this: the foolproof method and the smart method.

The foolproof method is just stacking a whole bunch of Super Appeal badges and having Mario Appeal. Infinite Super Appeals are sold at the Pianta Parlor. Depending on your crowd size, you might need 8-10 of them to get three whole bars. You should probably do this after you reach level 30 to have the biggest crowd.

The smart method requires understanding the mechanics behind SP calculation. To make a long story short, there are 4 factors that affect SP gain:

  • Size and composition of the audience (Toads are worth more, Dull Bones are worth 0)
  • How successful the action command is (Nice/Good/Great/Wonderful/Excellent). This is greatly buffed if you hit at least 1 Stylish prompt (you don't need to hit all of them, just one).
  • If Mario or his Partner are in Danger or Peril, it increases SP gain. If both are in Peril, it multiplies it by 6.
  • If you've had a Bingo recently, it will increase your SP gain for a while.

Therefore, to maximize SP gain, we'll want to hit a high Action Command while Mario and his Partner are in Danger or Peril. Here are two setups that worked for me, with ~150 crowd size.

  • Mario in Peril, Yoshi in Peril. Use Ground Pound (Great Action Command), and hit at least 1 Stylish.
  • Mario in Peril, Yoshi in Danger. Use Power Bounce to get an Excellent Action Command, and hit at least 1 Stylish.

You can easily get Mario in Peril by taking some damage in battle and then going down the rest of the way by falling in the water repeatedly. You can get your partner in Peril by either calculating the damage they need to take, and Defending and/or Guarding appropriately, or by having them faint (just make sure you don't have a Life Shroom) and picking up a single heart on the Overworld. I did this in Petalburg / Petal Meadows. Make sure you save once you've got your setup ready.

'Tis the Season (3)
Afflict Mario with the Allergic status.

You can get the Allergic status by having Mario eat some Space Food. It's not a 100% chance, so if it doesn't happen, try again. You can easily get Space Food by staying at the inn in Fahr Outpost (make sure you pick it up before you leave). Otherwise you can (and will, for 100%) cook it by using a Dried Bouquet with almost any healing item. The Allergic status will prevent any other status conditions, positive or negative.

Palliative Palate (3)
Have Mario benefit from the effects of a Poison Shroom.

The easiest way to get a Poison Shroom is to cook a Point Swap (from the Glitzville shop) with a Slow Shroom (from the store in the Rogueport Underground). For whatever reason, eating it in battle gives a small chance to restore all of your HP instead of poisoning you. Simply keep trying until it works. I would recommend saving before battle and reloading if you don't get it. You'll also need a Poison Shroom to make a Trial Stew eventually, so it might be a good idea to reload after you get it too.

Tastes Like Pain (5)
Have Yoshi eat a Pokey or a Poison Pokey whole.

If you use Yoshi's Gulp on a Pokey who only has the head remaining, there's a chance that Yoshi will swallow the head whole instead of spitting it back out. It's not guaranteed, so if you don't get it the first time just try again. As JaxonH99 notes in the comments, you can either hit the Pokey (specifically with Koops' Shell Toss or Power Shell) to knock its segments out, or you can wait for it to throw them at you itself.

Impossible Thief? (5)
Steal an item or badge from an enemy that wasn't holding anything at the start of the battle.

As Zomoroko notes in the comments, using Kiss Thief on an enemy not holding an item will give an 18% chance to steal either an item or a badge from the enemy's drop table. Just make sure you're targeting an enemy that has items on its drop table - most do, but some (Yux & variants, Bulky Bob-ombs, and most boss enemies) do not.

Stylin'! (10)
Get every move's unique Stylish commands in a single session.

Here is a good list of all the Stylish moves, and the timing for each. Naturally, you will have to have every partner fully upgraded and have quite a few badges collected to get every Stylish Command in one session. The Timing Tutor badge, obtained from Charlieton in Rogueport, is very useful for this achievement.

Now, it may be confusing as to what counts as a "unique" Stylish command. As noted by Leviathan01 and Zomoroko in the comments, several moves share a similar (or exactly alike) Stylish timing. Shrink/Sleepy/Soft Stomp all share with the default Jump, Head Rattle and Ice Smash share with the default Hammer, and Piercing Blow shares with Power Smash. For these, you only need to do one of the options to get full credit. Spin Jump and Power Jump share a timing, but based on my testing, Power Jump doesn't seem to count, so just use Spin Jump. Multibounce and Power Bounce have a similar timing, but don't seem to be required for the achievement at all (and don't count for each other, or for the default jump), even if you hit all 4 Stylishes during Multibounce (or all 9998 during Power Bounce, presumably). Super Hammer and Ultra Hammer have similar timings, but you must do both. This also applies to Bomb / Bobombast for Bobbery, and Shell Toss / Shell Slam for Koops - you must do each of them despite their similar timing.

As alkalinity mentions in the comments, it's probably best to start from a clean boot and go through all the moves systematically (one partner at a time, and down the list for Mario) to make sure you don't miss any. Also, make sure you have "Enable Progress Notifications" checked in your Dolphin settings, as the popups you get are borderline essential to figuring out whether you pulled off the Stylish move correctly and keeping track of how many you have left.

Here's some tips on ones I found especially tricky:

  • Spring Jump, much like regular Jump, requires you to bounce higher off the enemy by pressing A when you hit them (after the spinning ground pound part). The Timing Tutor arrow won't even show up if you miss this part.
  • Tornado Jump has two commands: one when Mario is falling back down, and one when he returns to his original spot. If you press A too early for the second one, while Mario is rolling, he will play a dizzy animation and it will not count.
Glittering and Gold (5)
Defeat an Amazy Dayzee.

Amazy Dayzees are found as early as Chapter 4 on the Twilight Trail, and you will likely run into one on later floors (90+) of the Pit of 100 Trials. They have 20 HP, 1 Defense, 20(!) attack, and their attack pierces defense, has a chance to inflict Sleep, and is hard to guard. For that reason, it's a good idea to wait until close to the endgame to try and take them out, unless you want to try the Peril Strat. They have a good chance of running from battle, so the best strategy is to try and take them out in one turn. Power Bounce is probably the easiest way - a 7-6-5-4 or 6-5-4-3-2 will take them out in one go (remember that 1 defense, though). You can use a Power Punch with your partner if your badge setup isn't enough. Otherwise, gang up with your partner to take it down quickly - Multibonk, Shell Slam, and Bobombast are good options, as are Ground Pound and Stampede with enough boosts. They are also decently (50%) susceptible to Sleep, but that's a bit of a gamble with that 20 Attack.

Once you defeat them, enjoy a boatload of Star Points.

Acknowledgements

  • Thanks to all the designers at Intelligent Systems for making a masterpiece of a game!
  • Thanks to the RA set developers, LogicalFallacy and ilikepie345 for making a seriously awesome set.
  • Thanks to the many commenters who have shared tips and strategies. I've tried to credit them as much as I can within the guide.
  • Thanks to Mario Wiki, which was an invaluable resource. All pictures of Hidden Blocks are pulled from Mario Wiki, as well as the banner logo at the top.
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