Super Mario RPG Restricted Weapons/No Deaths Run - Barrel Volcano/Czar Dragon and Zombone
0General rules on playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO2o0_k4kOryI-6ur48Q1fjPRv3waRk57
Party: Mallow/Bowser for mandatory mook encounters, Bowser/Princess for Czar Dragon/Zombone
Most enemies in Barrel Volcano have high enough Physical DEF, but also are weak against Ice. The two encounters that are mandatory are easy targets for Snowy. I do show off how Stumpet is intended to be a stronger version of Heavy Troopa by having 200 Physical ATK (no regular battle mook has higher) and the chance of using Va Va Voom (1.5x multiplier) on his even number turns, but 24 FP is all that is needed to make him chill out. Of course, at least he doesn't kill people quickly anyway, so I suppose other party compositions could try things out at their own pace as long as they can shake off the worst offenders.
Czar Dragon is capable of being a nuisance though. I swapped him out when he RNGed me, though reviewing the footage of my attempt with him with Mallow/Bowser, I think I could have equipped Mario with a Fearless Pin instead of the Rare Scarf, which...honestly, WHY does the Rare Scarf not provide better DEF boosts than 15 points to each DEF stat? Still, it's absolutely disgusting that Czar Dragon can cast Water Blast whenever he feels like it. I'll want to rerecord the fight at some point with that in mind, because I feel now it WAS doable with better setup even with the bad luck, but I'd rather get things going.
Czar Dragon can, once again, randomly counterattack with his regular attack, and it actually applies against ANY attack. He will either use a spell (including the aforementioned Water Blast), or if he uses a regular attack or Iron Maiden (which inflicts Fear, hence the Fearless Pin thing), he will summon 4 Helio mooks. The Helios will self-destruct at the end of the next round, and while they use 1x multipliers with 140 Physical ATK, there is power in numbers, so best to zap them with AoE.
Some good news is that Czar Dragon can be debuffed with Fear, and the Helios don't have much Magic DEF, only Fire immunity, so they'll be taken out of play easily by a Terrorize cast. Although that is if Terrorize does hit things you want it to in the first place. It can even miss the Czar Dragon himself because why not.
Once Czar Dragon bites the volcano dust, he reemerges as Zombone, who like Birdo has 100 Magic DEF, but I am FAR less sure about his balance handling. He uses Boulder (72 Magic Power, summing with Zombone's 80 Magic ATK for 152 Total Magic ATK, AND it hits everybody, AND it's non-elemental for good measure) on his first turn with no deviation, and then he can use it whenever he feels like it. You'll have a VERY bad time if he spams it, and he can also consider Storm or Blast, both which, while single target, have high Magic Power (108 for Storm, 89 for Blast) and yet again no element involvement, and therefore can sucker punch you if you have anybody at moderate HP. This is good enough reason why I am using Princess even if I could get past Czar Dragon pulling shenanigans on his own.
Since Pure Water is an item even if we ignore that it will simply deal only 130 damage to Zombone even though physical attacks will deal their own share of damage because of Zombone having only 60 Physical DEF, the one thing that salvages the fight, is that Zombone is vulnerable to Mute. Yes, Mute. This thing will instantly keep Zombone from casting Boulder, Storm, or Blast for a while, even causing him to waste his turns and give you time to rack up the damage. So good news, everybody! Our healer is actually doing something that, at least on this modified ROM where Group Hug is heavily nerfed and Therapy isn't let off scot-free, becomes a much needed FP save by letting her take the initiative. This is what I want to see more of. I just wish Mute costed 2 FP to be worth experimenting with, and also that there wasn't an overly stringent demand of Princess, who is already good enough in general, for the game design here to be put on display.
Other Videos By Master Knight DH
Other Statistics
Super Mario RPG Statistics For Master Knight DH
At this time, Master Knight DH has 37,823 views for Super Mario RPG spread across 112 videos. His channel uploaded over 3 days worth of Super Mario RPG videos, or 7.78% of the total watchable video on Master Knight DH's YouTube channel.