Super Mario RPG Switch Remake - Low Level Part 5: Bowyer

Channel:

MoogleBoss

Subscribers:

6,660

Published on December 7, 2023 4:52:17 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1TjjuiqVZI

Game:

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)

Duration: 7:32

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20

Challenge playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbSv8zSDR9c1MMIPTlZnOvI4eiDzyABR_

Levels:
Mario - lv. 2
Mallow - lv. 3
??? - lv. 6

The battle where Geno joins, giving us a team of three for the first time and enabling the usage of triple moves, and arguably the most interesting battle thus far. Before Bowyer, I make a point to use up as many coins and frog coins as possible, all thanks to them being both being farmable at this point of the game.

Bowyer is significantly healthier than the previous bosses, but considering the character joining us here is one hell of a nuke for this section of the game, we're not complaining about a shortage of ways to deplete his health. His main gimmick is blocking one of the three commands - specials, items and attacks. We never mourn losing the ability to use regular physicals, but being barred from employing specials is the most serious impediment. Mallow can always use up FP to restore HP when items are blocked, and items are only really helpful when somebody's been KO'd. The special block is the one that results in a somewhat drawn out battle.

Before anything is blocked at all, Toad Assist is accessible for the first turn. Geno can use it to try and score an attack boost for himself; if that fails, he will receive a large boost to attack from an Energizer (bought via frog coins). Dealing over 100 damage in an LLG so early (Geno is technically levelled just right, you could argue) is quite a feat. Under a special block, his regular attack also strikes reasonably hard.

Besides changing which actions are blocked, Bowyer also acts once per turn, and his actions are quite diverse. The risk of being put to sleep is the reason we have Wake-Up Pins on Mario and Mallow; Geno is still vulnerable to the status and will need to be restored to good condition with a Cleansing Juice. He has an unblockable AoE attack that will force us to heal, and single-target attacks that are blockable... if we time the input right.

Though Mallow got a weapon that's as powerful as Mario's current, regular physicals coming from both aren't a big dent. Mario's Jump does provide decent chip damage in addition to what Geno offers.

Triple Moves? They do make the game easier, but I don't see why we shouldn't use them for the full experience of the game and this challenge.

The second star is ours.

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