Chapter 1 – Paper Mario 64 Walkthrough

This Chapter 1 guide in our Paper Mario 64 walkthrough takes you through Koopa Village and the daunting Koopa Bros Fortress.

Like every guide in our Paper Mario 64 walkthrough, our Chapter 1 walkthrough keeps it to the point and gets you moving to your next goal without getting too stuck in the details. We’ll also mention any Star Pieces or badges you can snag along the way. You can jump to a specific part of our Paper Mario 64 Chapter 1 walkthrough by hitting these links:

• Pleasant Path
• Koopa Village
• Goomba Road
• Road to the Fortress
• Boss: Koopa Bros.
• Peach’s Castle (Intermission)
• Return to Toad Town

Pleasant Path

Now that you’ve used Merlon to kick the Koopa Bros. out from blocking the eastern exit from Toad Town, enter the generic grasslands of Pleasant Path. Make sure to hit the red Question Block for get a Dizzy Attack badge. In the second room, whack the tree to reveal a blue switch. Hit it to form a bridge across the water. Ignore the Star Piece near the water and continue to the next area.

If you’re low on hearts, run circles around the striped Candy Pop to have recovery hearts fly out. Take the steps down and before you head into Koopa Village through the exit, take a look at the three brick blocks. Hit all three with your hammer in this specific order: left, right, top. This will cause the Attack FX B badge to appear.

Koopa Village

Fuzzies have taken over the village! You’ll need to help six Koopa Troopas retrieve their shells. In the first area:

• Whack the Fuzzy in front of the inn.
• On top of a brick block south of the item shop.
• Smack the tree to bring the shell down.

In the second area:

• Hammer the moving shell in the direct patch.
• Push the blue block underneath the brick block.

Enter the middle house with the green roof to find the last shell. This Fuzzy is smart and takes off through the back door. Follow it down into a new area. Ignore the badge for now and walk across the bridge. In the next room you’ll play a minigame with the Fuzzies where you’ll have to watch the blue shell as its tossed from branch to branch. Remember where the shell stops at and whack the tree holding. Do this three times to get the shell back. Get one wrong and you’ll have to fight the Fuzzy that pops out. Leave and Kooper will join your team! You’ll have to fight a group of Fuzzies anyway. Kooper’s Power Shell is good here!

On your way back, hop on top of the tree stump and use Kooper’s ability to get the HP Plus badge. Back in Koopa Village, go back to the movable blue block and use it to break the brick block and get a Star Piece.

Road to the Fortress

With Kooper on your team, leave Koopa Village. Now you can go back to the second area of Pleasant Path and use Kooper to get that Star Piece on the small island. After that, take the wooden bridge into the next area. Use Kooper to hit the blue switch to form a bridge. Walk into the next room and smack the tree for another Star Piece. Walk all the way to the end and heal at the Heart Block before heading into Koopa Bros. Fortress.

Koopa Bros. Fortress

Okay! First dungeon. Walk inside and fight the Koopa Troopa to get him to drop a Key. Use it to unlock the door. Get past the Bob-ombs in the next room and go through the exit. Nothing to do in this room either so keep on going right. Fight the Koopa Troopa guarding the locked door and a blue switch will appear when its’s defeated. Hit the blue switch to lower the stairs.

Go into the basement and walk through the exit on the left. Here you’ll be forced to fight two Paratroopas and a Koopa before the next door is lowered. Head into the next room and jump over the Fire Bars. If you stand near them and jump over each rotation, you’ll kill them off and get a decent amount of coins. At the end of the hall is a Key.

Go back up the stairs you came from and enter the locked door. Climb up the tower and attempt to hit the Question Block to activate the obviously placed trap. Fall down into the prison from here and unlock Bombette from her chains. Not sure how chains work with Bob-ombs but it seems to be working! Use her bomb ability to blow up the crack in the wall. Keep an eye out for these cracks!

Go up the big steps you lowered earlier and take the door on the right, the bomb the crack in the right wall. Outside you’ll find a chest with the Refund badge inside! Return to the room with the three jail cells. Destroy the cracked wall on the right to get the Key, then destroy the cracked wall in the middle to get the Power Bounce badge.

Head back to the room where the trap was and take the door on the left. Open the lock on the next door. Use Kooper to hit the red switch, then walk across the two new platforms. Hit the same red switch to push back the wall. Repeat this a second time for the next set. In the next room, whack the blue switch to lower the stairs. This will create a path to cracked wall below. Bomb it, then grab the key from the last jail cell.

Use that key in the same room as the most recent blue switch. Enter the door and look at that, another blue switch! Hit it to raise up a final set of stairs. Go up all the way up to get the Smash Charge badge, then enter the door. You’re at the top of the fortress! Bullet Bills will come speeding your way in lanes of three but at different intervals. As soon as one passes you, step into the Bullet Bill’s lane to avoid the others. Attack the Bullet Bill Blasters and use the Save Block and Heart Block before heading into the next door.

Boss: Koopa Bros.

Two phases to this boss fight! First up is Bowser??? with 10HP with increased defense. You’ll want to use your hammer here. Once defeated, the Koopa Bros. will appear with 5HP and increased defense for all four team members. They like to stack on top of each other, so use Bombette’s Bomb ability to knock them all on their back immediately. Using a move or an item the can attack multiple targets would be ideal! Finish off each one to save your first Star Spirit, Eldstar.

Peach’s Castle (Intermission)

Very simple section again! Playing as Peach, interact with the painting to the right of the fireplace to reveal a secret switch. Hit it, then walk inside the fireplace and down a secret hallway. Hit the next switch to enter another room. Read Bowser’s diary on the table and keep reading until Bowser barges in and catches you.

Return to Toad Town

Back with Mario, Eldstar will teach about use the Star Sprit’s abilities in battle. You’ll unlock a new ability each time you finish a chapter. On your way back to Toad Town, bomb the wall near the Koopa Bros. Fortress to access a pipe that’ll take you to a chest containing an FP Plus badge. Eventually you’ll run into Jr. Troopa who now has 15HP and increased attack and defense. You’ll want to use some of your stronger moves from badges to take him down.

Not much to do in Toad Town except to go all the way south and bomb the cracked rock in front of the train. Speak with the train conductor and you’ll be off to the desert. Chapter 2 begins!

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