Super Mario RPG - Ch. 18 - Nimbus Land
1Continuing! Remember how Mallow doesn't know who his birth parents are? Look like it's finally time to tie up that loose end. We're going to be exploring a city in the clouds, Nimbus Land!
CHAPTER 18 - NIMBUS LAND
Ok, so we left off on the Beanstalk. I technically cut things off mid-fall. Regardless whatever path you take, you'll end up near the entrance to the Hotsprings. The guards here won't let you in. It's for royalty only. Use the springboard here and then again take one on the left to finally bring you to Nimbus Land.
It appears something important is happening. A woman named Valentina comes out and announces the king's condition is getting worse. She also announces that she found the long lost Prince Mallow. Eventually, a fat bird creature will appear, claiming to be Mallow. Valentina speaks for him and claims he asked her to be his queen.
When you're free to wander around, hit up the item shop right to your left here. You should be able to upgrade everyone except Bowser. There's a hidden item with a Frog Coin above the boxes. Next door, there's an inn. If you choose to add the Dream Cushion, a random dream will play. In some of them, you'll receive an item. I did not.
There's not much else of interest in the town, except for the house in the upper-left corner. It belongs to Garro, the scupltor. Mallow will comment on how a scuplture looks just like him, leading Garro to realize this is the long lost prince. To sneak you into the castle, he will cover Mario in gold paint to make him look like a statue.
After Garro leaves, Valentina will ask the Dodo to arrange and polish the statues. You have to jump to avoid being pecked. If you can do this, you'll receive a 'Feather' accessory as a reward later. If you can't, you'll get into a quick battle with the Dodo. You can buy a Feather later in the game anyway, so don't worry.
When you're free to roam around the castle, there's really only one path forward. When you reach the upstairs area, you'll first need to go through the door on the right. This leads to a room full of former castle employees. One of them will give you 'Castle Key 1', which opens the door in the middle of the upstairs area. It's the one guarded by a 'Big Troopa'.
Passed this door is a huge egg. You'll see the same Shy Guy Gardner from earlier, watering the egg for some reason. Talk to the egg and agree to play with it.
BOSS BATTLE - Shelly/Birdo - (HP - 500/777, Weakness - n/a)
This is a two-stage boss battle. First, you'll face Shelly the Egg. The egg has no attacks, so you can simply use your regular timed attacks. Once you deal enough damage, Birdo will hatch. Birdo, like Shelly, has no weaknesses. But since it doesn't have much HP, you should be able to take care of it pretty quickly.
When you're done, you'll receive 'Castle Key 2', which unlocks the door to proceed here. You'll come to a long hall way with a door and a note. It says that the King is inside. Bowser wants to bust it down, but Mallow thinks it's not best if the King is actually sick. So we continue...
We'll see another Big Troopa guarding the door. Then finally, we reach Valentina, fake Mallow and the Shy Guy Gardner. He informs Valentina that we're the same people who beat up Smilax earlier. Mallow confronts Valentina. She pretends to be offended and leaves. We follow.
This next screen is nothing special. However, the one beyond it contains a Super Star. You can use this to catch up to Dodo. The door at the end doesn't lead to anything and makes you actually fall back down the Hotsprings. We go back to Nimbus Land and well-intentioned townsfolk keep talking to Valentina, slowing her down.
Mario catches up and it's time for battle!
BOSS BATTLE - Dodo/Valentina (HP - 1,000/2,000, Weakness - n/a)
My party for this battle is: Mario, Bowser, Peach. The character in the middle will be pulled into a side-battle, so Bowser is ideal for this. Valentina has no weaknesses, but you can use Fear or Poison on Dodo. Once you take him out, you'll both return to the main battle.
Unfortunately, it also means you have to defeat him twice. But this is not hard, just tedious. Same with Valentina. Keep at it and you'll bring her down. When she dies, Valentina and the Dodo go flying off. Luckily, the key to the King's chamber falls and Mallow is finally reunited with his parents!
Mallow's parents mention that a large star has recently fallen into the nearby Barrel Volcano, which can be reached by passing through the hotspring. Since Mallow is a prince, he can now enter. So we'll go do that. You just need to simply walk off the ledge and fall...
Welp, it's time for us to take a break. Join us next time for 'Ch. 19 - Barrel Volcano'.