After defeating the Papercraft Goomba with your first Papercraft, the eastern exit of the Sunbeam Plains is finally free. Follow the escaped Goomba through the passageway and you reach the Doop Doop Dunes, a vast desert landscape full of cactus, sand hills and dangerous Enemies. As soon as you enter the area, you will recognize Bowser’s Castle in the distance, where the two princesses are probably staying. As Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario reflect on the next steps, the plot briefly changes to Bowser and Papier-Bowser. The two have now allied with their respective armies, while Bowser Jr. and his paper double are already making plans of their own. The way to the castle will be anything but easy.
First, use the Heart-Block right at the entrance to fill up the HP and BP of all three characters. At Doop Doop Dunes, you will encounter several spiky Enemies for the first time, including Stachis and her paper variants. With ordinary jumps you should not attack these Enemies, as Mario and Luigi can hurt themselves. Instead, use the hammer or a suitable bros. Attack. Especially paper Mario’s copies help you to catch several hits if you do not yet fully master the right timing when dodging. Defeat the Enemies on your way so that your group gains additional experience and open all accessible? blocks. Especially in the first areas are numerous small coin reserves, which add up in the further course of the game.
The First Secrets of the Desert
Before you follow the main story, we explore the lower part of the first desert area. First, go northwest. It says a? Block with five coins. Another Block is on a higher platform that you can’t reach right now. Remember its position, because after a later event, additional cardboard projections will appear here. From this point you follow the lower path east and walk along the edge of the rocks. In the extreme northeast you finally recognize a narrow crack in the wall. While Mario and Luigi do not fit through, Paper Mario can easily squeeze into the opening thanks to its flat shape. Choose the appropriate action and send it through alone. Behind the wall he finds three mushrooms that you take directly with you. This means that the first hidden stockpile of Doop Doop Dunes has already been collected.
Then return to the northwestern area and climb the projections there. On an elevated platform, you suddenly discover Nabbit, the nimble thief who has already joined the Bros in Peach’s Castle. Attacks by Mario and Luigi. As soon as you approach, Nabbit gets out of the dust again and jumps over the next gap. This begins a longer chase through the desert, in which we gradually retrieve the stolen attacks.
Nabbit and the drill shell
Run Nabbit afterwards and use the sprint socks to build up enough speed. The elevated platforms are partly so far apart that an ordinary jump is not enough. Jump with the entire trio and use the joint flight movement to get over the gaps. The decisive factor here is to take sufficient start-up even before the jump-off. As soon as you catch up with Nabbit on the next platform, there is a short dispute. He escapes again, but loses one of the previously stolen Bros. Attacks. Luigi receives the drill shell.
In this attack, Luigi turns a large spiky tank on its head and jumps up into the air with Mario’s help. Control the attack so that the brothers land as exactly as possible over an Enemies. Press A at the right moment to make the tank crash to the target, and then repeat B to cause additional damage. The drill shell requires 5 BP and is particularly suitable against stronger single opponents. An overview of all other attacks can be found in our list of all Bros. Attacks.
After the short interruption, Mopsies Flee takes you on to the upper platforms. Follow the visible coin trace and use the sprint again with the common jump in larger gaps. On the way, you can collect the scattered coins directly. If you fall on a jump down, this is not a problem. You don’t have to completely restart the pursuit, just run back to the first lead via the lower paths and cross the elevated section again. Shortly before the eastern exit is also a? Block with another five coins that you should open before the area change.
Kamek blocks the path
In the next area, Nabbit hides behind the three brothers before again running east. Before you follow it further, you should examine the environment. In the northwestern area is there? Block with five coins. Directly nearby is another narrow wall tear, through which you can send Paper Mario. On the other hand, another ten coins are waiting. Then you go southwest, where a sandy slope with striking flowers begins. We will need this path right away, but for now you can move further towards the southeast.
As soon as you have caught up with Nabbit there, Kamek and Paper Kamek suddenly appear. The two wizards want to prevent Mario, Luigi and Paper from reaching Mario Bowser’s Castle. With their magic, they make numerous large cardboard plates and platforms appear, which spread over the desert and block the direct path. The new construction extends even to the previous area. Nabbit uses the mess to disappear again. For us, however, the change is quite useful, because the new cardboard projections can open several previously unreachable blocks.
New blocks in the first desert area
Before you take the new main path, return to the entrance area of the Doop Doop Dunes. The previously unreachable Block in the northwest can now be reached via the newly released platforms. Open it and you will get two syrup glasses. You should not overlook these, because with the coming Bros. Attacks will consume your BP stocks much faster. Then follow the elevated path on which you followed Nabbit before. In the northeastern part, you can now reach two more? blocks via an additional cardboard projection. They contain ten and five coins.
On the southern side of the area, another platform has also appeared. Jump up and open the Crystal block there for an additional five coins. Thus, the blocks of the first desert section, which are newly accessible by Kamek’s intervention, are collected. The large grey rock barrier in the western part, on the other hand, you can not yet destroy. We return later with a new trio capability. Now run east again to the area with the flower hills.
About the cardboard platforms
Go to the flower-lined slope in the southwest and run up it. In front of you now extends a series of high cardboard platforms. Take the sprint socks and jump from one platform to the next. Are you waiting for the first one on the right? Block with five coins. Follow the path northwest and climb the small steps at the sign. Here is another crystal block with five coins. Defeat the Spiny nearby with the Hammer and then open the Block on the northern edge. There are three more mushrooms that you can use well for the coming fights.
Then follow the elevated path to the east. Is there another one on the way? Block with ten coins. Shortly afterwards you will discover a striking color switch on a large red rock. Once you approach, Starlow explains how to switch between your different field actions. Select the hammer and hit the red color switch. Then a large platform rises from the sand and forms a staircase to the next higher level. Go up and follow the path on the upper side to the right.
On the higher track you will find one next to some cactus? Block with five coins. A little further south stands another crystal block surrounded by small rotating flowers. Open it and you’ll get a refreshing herb that will help you eliminate any negative changes in combat. If the flowers block the path, you can activate them like on the Sunbeam Plains with the Sprint socks. Then go northeast and descend the steps there. In the lower area, two more? blocks are waiting, which together contain 15 coins. Thus we have also taken on this elevated route all currently reachable objects.
Nabbit steals the hammers
Now go south. There is a red color switch waiting on another rock, which you actually want to activate with the hammer like the previous one. But just as Mario, Luigi and Paper want to strike Mario, Nabbit suddenly jumps out of hiding. With a quick move, he grabs the hammers of all three characters and runs away. Without these weapons, you can no longer use the Color Switch. So you have no choice but to pursue the thief again.
This begins a special Nabbit rescue mission consisting of three consecutive pursuit rounds. Run Nabbit with the sprint socks and orient yourself at his track. During the pursuit, he regularly throws large spiked balls behind him. Dodge this sideways, because a direct hit costs you speed and lets Nabbit win a bigger advantage again. On the way are also coins and occasionally healing objects. Take them with you if you do not have to deviate significantly from your route.
Retrieve all three hammers
In the first pursuit round, Nabbit will take you through a comparatively simple circuit. Use the sprint socks and run straight behind him as possible. As soon as you get close enough, you make a sprint jump or pike movement to catch it. Nabbit then loses the first hammer, but can escape again. The next round begins immediately afterwards. This time, additional spiked balls appear, which you bypass as early as possible. Try not to follow Nabbit exactly on every curve, but to shorten his path a little. On an opportune occasion, catch up with him again and secure the second hammer.
In the third round, the track will be much more demanding. Nabbit now jumps over several elevated cardboard platforms, which is why you have to combine sprint and jumps together. Build up enough speed before the first edge, jump with the trio and use the short flight phase to reach the next platform. Be especially careful not to run against one of the spiked balls immediately before jumping off. Once you catch Nabbit a third time, he also loses the last hammer. All three weapons are back in your possession and the pursuit mission is complete.
As an additional reward, Mario receives the previously stolen Bros. Attack Rocket Blast. She also needs 5 BP. Mario and Luigi get together on a Mini Rocket, which carries them high in the air. Then one of the brothers falls down on the Enemies. Press A for Mario or B for Luigi at the right moment to amplify the hit. The second brother remains first on the Mini Rocket. Control your flight with the sliding pad and direct it as closely as possible on the Enemies, so that the final rocket hit lands successfully.
Mario and Luigi each have an additional Bros. Attack. If you have not yet tried both techniques, it is worth a short test for the next opponents. The drill shell in particular causes considerable damage to individual strong enemies, while the Rocket Blast is also very effective when executed cleanly. Nabbit himself disappears after the third round again towards Bowser’s Castle. We will meet him again in the course of the game, because he has not yet returned all the stolen attacks.
The Road to the Next Desert Region
After the successful pursuit, return to the red color switch where Nabbit stole your hammers. This time you can easily activate it. Hit it with the hammer and another platform rises from the sand. Jump up and follow the elevated path then south. After a few more paragraphs, you will reach a new area where Bowser’s Castle already appears much closer.
First go west and jump over the small platforms there on the hill. A? Block contains ten coins. Then you return to the main route and follow the path to the east. There you will again discover Nabbit, who runs away over several high protrusions. Follow him with sprint and team jump until you reach the upper level. Just as it looks like you are finally catching up with the thief, suddenly two huge pokeys fall from above. The spiky cactus creatures destroy the narrow platforms and hurl Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario back to the sandy ground.
After the crash, the group is initially stuck in a small area. The only exit is blocked by a huge grey rock block. First try to destroy it with a normal hammer. However, it quickly becomes clear that the beats of the individual characters are not enough. Starlow then explains a new joint field action: the Trio Hammer.
Learning the Trio Hammer
In the trio Hammer, Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario combine their powers into a single particularly powerful blow. Select the new trio action and stand directly in front of the gray Block. Then press the buttons in the correct order: A for Mario, B for Luigi and Y for Paper Mario. The three characters swing their hammers one after the other and finally meet the obstacle together. If the entry succeeds, the big rock block breaks and the way becomes free.
Trio Hammer is now one of your most important abilities outside of combat. Not only can you use it to destroy large gray blocks, but you can also move certain cardboard obstacles, activate larger mechanisms and edit unusually resistant objects. Therefore, while further exploring, pay attention to large gray boulders that are clearly different from ordinary obstacles. Some of them were already in the previous areas and can now be destroyed for the first time. For our most complete run, we will take the meaningfully accessible secrets directly with us before we go on to the next scene.
The western byway and a 1-UP mushroom
Go through the opening and open it first? Block behind it. It contains five coins. The actual path leads from here to the southeast, but before you follow it, a detour to the west is worthwhile. Jump over the elevated platform and look for two large gray blocks that block the way ahead. Use the recently learned Trio Hammer and destroy both obstacles. Behind it you reach a small secluded area with a treasure chest or one? Block containing a 1-UP mushroom.
Then follow the narrow web further south. At the end, three more? blocks are waiting. Open all three and you get 20 coins together. Then the path leads you over a small hill to the east. There again a gray crystal block blocks the direct passage. Destroy him with the trio Hammer and you get back on the well-known main path. In this way, we have completed the entire western secondary area without having to run back here again later.
Protective clothing and 50 coins at the desert entrance
Before you go further south, it is now worth a last bit bigger way back. Return to the first area of the Doop Doop Dunes, which you entered immediately after the Sunbeam Plains. In the western part is the large gray Block, where you could not do anything before. With the Trio Hammer, this obstacle can now be easily destroyed. Behind it is a small enclosed area with two special blocks.
First open the Crystal block for Mario or Luigi and collect the 50 coins. In the other Crystal block lies the protective clothing, an item of equipment for one of the two brothers. Open the equipment menu immediately afterwards and compare their values with your previous clothes. Especially if you have mainly relied on Power so far, a defensive improvement in the coming section can be useful. Since these two blocks are accessible from now on and require only a short way back, we take them directly.
Afterwards you run east again over the well-known platforms to the area where the two huge pokeys have thrown you back before. Thanks to the now open passages, you can return to the southern route without any major detours.
More Secrets and Enemies
Now follow the actual road to the south. In a small side area, you can already encounter a sandworm that emerges from the ground and attacks the group. For the further course of the game, you do not necessarily have to defeat this Enemies at the moment. If you want to take as many fights as possible and gain experience, you can already face it. Make sure that the sandworm is comparatively resilient for this early phase. Therefore, if possible, set the newly received Bros. Complete attacks and keep Maria’s paper copies so you can survive multiple hits. If your HP or BP have already dropped sharply, you can also skip the encounter at first.
Then return to the main path and climb back to the higher level via the platforms in the north. There, several large gray blocks block the passage. Smash them with the Trio Hammer and move on. Shortly afterwards, the path leads you past a flower-lined slope. Use the sprint socks and run up the hill with a start. At the upper end, there are more grey obstacles, which you also remove with the Trio Hammer. Then you reach the upper desert route, which leads directly towards Bowser’s Castle.
On a high-altitude platform, you also recognize a green warp pipe that you can’t reach with your previous skills. There are also some other? blocks on projections, for which Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario need later trio actions. The Trio Glider in particular will eventually enable us to overcome larger abysses and height differences. Therefore, do not try to get to these places with ordinary jumps. We return later and pick up the missing items as soon as the required ability is available.
The Hanging Bridge and the Crash
After the last destroyed stone blocks, you reach a long suspension bridge that stretches over a deep rock gorge. On the other hand, the path seems to continue towards Bowser’s Castle. Before entering the bridge, check your remaining healing items and check the equipment of the three characters. Especially the previously found protective clothing can be helpful in the next sections. Additional Enemies along the way can still be defeated if you want to gain some experience.
Then enter the suspension bridge and follow it east. At first everything seems to be quiet, but shortly before Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario reach the other side, the two huge pokeys appear again. They hurl the group with a violent attack from the bridge and directly into the gorge below. The crash ends deep below the desert surface in a cave system, from which there is initially no direct way back.
This concludes the first exploration of the Doop Doop Dunes. Luigi now owns the Drill Shell, Mario the Rocket Blast and the group dominates the Trio Hammer. All currently usefully accessible side routes of the upper desert route were explored, including the hidden protective clothing, the 1-UP mushroom and the additional coins and healing objects. The higher blocks remain earmarked for a later visit.
Our adventure continues in the Doop Doop Dunes Grotto. This is where we first have to find our way back to the surface. The Trio Hammer is still needed several times, because in addition to large cactuses and closed passages, we expect more switch puzzles and finally two particularly unpleasant Enemies.