Part 1: Bowser's Keep and Mushroom Way

Main Walkthrough

Mushroom Kingdom

Your next stop after treking through Mushroom Way is the Mushroom Kingdom, home of the Toads. The kingdom is more of a town, and you can poke around the houses and speak to the residents all you like. Ultimately, however, you need to head to the castle, which is northeast of the entrance to Mushroom Kingdom. If you're a completionist you should save before entering.

Once inside the castle you'll meet up with Toad, who will gab for a moment and then walk away. Sprint ahead of Toad (Y button, if you forgot) and wait until he stops in front of the door at the end of the hall. Jump onto his head and use it to hop onto the stonework above the door. There's an invisible chest up here that contains a Frog Coin. This brief window is the only time you can ever get this Frog Coin, so move quickly before Toad goes through the door and disappears. (Though don't worry too much if you miss it. Frog Coins are plentiful.)

Follow Toad to the throne room and you'll meet the Chancellor, who will hear Mario's story and beg him to hunt down Princess Toadstool. The Chancellor will provide you with a Map, which you can use via the menu to view the entirety of the world. That done, return to the main hallway of the castle and check the southeast doorway to find a small side chamber, where a Toad is guarding the castle vault. Inside you can pop open chests containing a healing mushroom, a Flower, and coins.

Head back outside. You'll catch sight of a burglary-in-progress, and a fluffy boy will trigger a rainstorm with his crying. Speak to him to learn that his name is Mallow, and a reptilian thief has stolen Mallow's Frog Coin. After demonstrating his jumping ability (B button) Mario agrees to help get the coin back. Mallow will hereafter join the party, providing Mario some backup in combat. Mallow isn't a great melee fighter, but his Special Moves - offensive and healing - more than make up for his poor combat skills.

Your next stop is Bandit's Way, an outdoor area similar to Mushroom Way. First, though, you should finish looking around the Mushroom Kingdom.

  • Next to the spot where you met Mallow is a building with a star sign out front. This is the Inn, and you can fork out three coins to rest here for the night. This will restore the party's HP and FP. You'll also find a save point inside. Inns throughout Super Mario RPG will always have the telltale star out front, and you should make a point to pay them a visit and save whenever you find a new town.
  • On the east side of Mushroom Kingdom is another building with a sign out front, this of a mushroom. These buildings are Item Shops, and will provide you with restorative items, new equipment, and accessories. Speak to the owner and he'll give you a free Pick Me Up, a handy item that will restore a knocked-out team member to life. You should at a minimum buy a Shirt and Pants from this guy before you leave, and equip them on Mario and Mallow. Some Mushrooms and Honey Syrup can't hurt either.
  • On the right side of the Item Shop are stairs to the basement. A Toad down here will order you to stand in front of him and jump, revealing a hidden chest containing a Flower. This is a tutorial for invisible chests, of which there are many in Super Mario RPG. Wait for the Toad to amble over to the right-most corner of the room, near the bottom of the stairs, and you can use his head as a stepping-stool to reveal a second hidden chest, this one containing another Flower.

Head to the southeast end of Mushroom Kingdom once you're done looking around. There's a hop-happy Toad over here, and speaking to him will reveal the thief, Croco, who will skip town. Better follow him.

Bandit's Way

Enemies

  • Frogog - 80 HP - Weak to Fire, Lightning
  • Goomba - 16 HP - Weak to Fire
  • K-9 - 30 HP
  • Sky Troopa - 10 HP - Weak to Jump
  • Spikey - 20 HP
You'll face a few familiar enemies on Bandit's Way, as well as two new ones. Of particular note are the hefty Frogogs, which have a lot more HP than your average enemy and can hit fairly hard. Mallow is good at wiping the field with his Thunderbolt Special Move, which costs little FP and hits hard. Tap the Y button just before the lightning strike starts to fade to do extra damage.

Mario and Mallow will run into Croco at the entrance of Bandit's Way, and the thief will immediately bolt. Head south of the entrance and you'll find a save block, which you should use before proceeding any further. East of the save block you'll find the exit to the next screen.


This area consists of two dirt cliff ledges and a clearing patrolled by K-9s. Use the spinning flower near the entrance to get onto the western ledge. There are two floating platforms up here, and jumping on the one closer to the right will spin the other one further east, allowing you to hop your way to the eastern ledge. If you jump carefully you can grab coins along the way. If you fall off, just hop back up.  

Once you hop off of the eastern dirt mount you'll be near the exit. Over here you'll find another spinning flower. Hop onto it and wait until Mario is facing east. If you jump off at this position the flower will propel Mario into the air, smacking him into a hidden chest far above his head. This chest contains a Kerokero Cola. This item fully restores your whole party when used, and should be saved for dire situations.

You'll run into Croco again in the third area, and he'll run off. Follow him north until the path splits. If you check out the northeast you'll find a K-9 beneath a chest. Take out the enemy, then pop open the chest to receive full health. Down the northwest path you'll find the exit to the next screen.


In the next area you'll find Croco messing with floating platforms that slowly rotate around one another. Once he leaves you can use these platforms to get at a floating chest, which contains a Super Star. This will immediately make Mario invincible for a short time, and a horde of K-9s will rush in. Run around and touch them for insta-kills - and some very quick experience. You'll run into Super Stars a few more times in Super Mario RPG, and you should always try to take full advantage of them.

Use the rotating platforms to make your way slowly east. This will bring you to another chest, which contains a Flower. Southeast of here is the exit to the final screen. Here you'll corner Croco, who will zip around the area and try to hide from you. Bop the chest near the entrance for a health bump, then pursue Croco. To nab him you'll need to approach him from behind before he turns around and spots you. Do this three times and the chase will end... though what follows is worse.


Croco

HP: 320
Weakness: Fire

What a scamp. Croco is far from the most powerful opponent you'll face on your journey, but he can still give you trouble if you didn't reach level 3 or higher. He uses the following attacks:
  • A regular ramming attack
  • A single-target bomb that inflicts heavy damage
  • Weird Mushroom, which restores 60 HP to Croco
Simple attack pattern, but potentially deadly. Croco's bombs will inflict upwards of 15 points of damage, which can prove lethal to Mario or Mallow if they're already hurt. Have Mario use Fire Orb, Jump, or his normal attack while Mallow keeps both characters above 20ish HP with items or, if he has learned it, HP Rain. Mario's Fire Orb will waste one of Croco's turns the first time it is used, but otherwise it eats through your FP a little too quickly, making Jump the better attack option if you don't have Honey Syrup on hand.

You'll receive a Flower Tab for beating Croco, as well as Mallow's RareFrogCoin and a Wallet. (You can sell the Wallet, but... don't. Better to return it to its owner.) You'll also receive a shortcut out of Bandit's Way in the form of a springboard. Use it to return to the Mushroom Kingdom.


Mushroom Kingdom

Enemies
  • Shyster - 30 HP
The, uh... the kingdom has changed a bit since you left. Under attack by a band of Shysters, the Mushroom Kingdom needs some saving. These guys aren't particularly difficult to defeat, though Mallow's Thunderbolt is by far your quickest means of wiping them out. The Shysters are terrorizing the Toads, and you can save the townsfolk before heading to the castle:
  • West of the entrance to the castle is a house with a cowering family inside. If you beat the two Shysters on the lower floor and then 'save' the son on the second floor the father will give you a Flower Tab.
  • Outside a south on the east side of Mushroom Kingdom is a Toad being chased by a Shyster. Save him and he'll recognize the Wallet you received from Croco as his own. Give it to him and he'll give you a Flower Tab.
  • Near the eastern exit is a Toad being chased by a Shyster. Save him to receive 10 Coins.

Head into the castle. The never-ending stream of Shysters continues here. There are a few new things to collect in here:
  • In the main hall you'll see a Toad being chased by a Shyster. Defeat the Shyster and the Toad will tell you that the other Toads are hiding in the princess's bedroom, in the west wing of the castle. Fight your way in and you'll find a save point. The woman standing by the bed will fully restore your party's health. If you wipe out enough Shysters to get the Toad into the bedroom he'll give you a Flower Tab.
  • In the east wing you'll find a Toad being attacked by Shysters. Once saved he'll mention the vault. Check the vault and you'll find that the chests have been replenished, and contain Coins, a Flower, and healing for your team.
  • Check the bedroom across from the vault. In a corner of the east side of the room you'll find the vault guard. He'll give you a Wake Up Pin. It prevents Sleep and Mute, and is a good accessory for Mallow since he can't do much without his Special Moves.
That's it for the castle. Fight your way to the throne room and you'll find the architect of all the bouncey misery.


Mack

HP: 480
Weakness: Lightning

The first commander of the Smithy Gang, Mack is also your first major challenge in Super Mario RPG - though he's still not that big a deal, as long as you're around at least level 4. Mack uses the following attacks:
  • Flame, a single-target Fire attack
  • Flame Wall, a multi-target Fire attack
Mack starts out with four Bodyguards, essentially Shysters, and so long as they're on the screen Mack will leap into the sky and remain invulnerable to harm. Use Mallow's Thunderbolt to wipe out the Bodyguards and bring Mack back, then use Mario and Mallow's Special Moves to chip away at his HP. Thunderbolt does the most damage in this battle, so let Mallow hog the FP if you're running low.


Defeating Mack will earn you your first Star Piece. Speak to the Chancellor and Mallow will suggest that you speak with his grandfather for more information on your quest. Sounds like a plan. You can now proceed to a new area, though first, head to the Item Shop. The shopkeeper will give you a Cricket Pie for Mallow's grandfather. You can swap this for another item in the near future.

Main Walkthrough