Quesada's Swan

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Traveling into a Sunken Ghost Ship feels a bit fitting for Halloween...

Taking Fajen Thygia's advice from yesterday, I head back to Star Hill to get more coins since I'm almost out of money.

All of the monsters on Star Hill are immune to lightning spells!

Bowser's also leveled up! I upgrade his physical stats!

I head back to Seaside Town to get the Coin Trick, but it's worth a lot of Frog Coins!

Passing on that, I resume the Star Piece hunt!

On the way to the Sunken Ship, I collect three chest blocks (the ones behind the save block and the supply of crates): a mushroom, a Flower, and a Frog Coin!

I save again and reread the note on the wall in the ship...

I also notice another note at the entrance that reads:

"We're done for...a giant squid just got a hold of us. This ship's going down fast..."

The Greapers know Blizzard too!

I forgot to point this out, but I notice that Peach is strong against magical attacks, but Mario isn't!

I quickly head downstairs before another Alley Rat throws me back into another battle!

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The next room has Greapers guarding the cabin doors here...which one should I go into first?

I choose neither as I head forward into the southwest passage, where there's a Dry Bones, a chest block, and another hooded shopkeeper. Or is that the same person?

Looks like I bit off more than I could chew in this battle here (two Dry Bones, two Greapers, and a a Reacher), since Mario gets KO'd a few times, and Peach once. Lucky I revive both of them, but Dry Bones is pretty stubborn to take care of, just like in the old games...

I get the chest block, which has plenty of coins!

Unfortunately, I get stuck into the same encounter I faced before since the Dry Bones is blocking my way out! Even escaping doesn't work since I'm trapped!

I manage to survive the second round (using a Pure Water on a Reacher!), with Peach gaining a level, and a new skill!

I upgrade her physical stats.

I now talk to the hooded shopkeeper...

He still has the same wares from the last time we met him. I buy new equipment for Mario: the Super Hammer, and a Sailor Shirt, and restock on recovery items.

Though, I find out the Super Hammer's weaker than the Masher by 10 pts! :(

The description for the Hurly Gloves for Bowser made me laugh a bit: "a classic Mario Toss attack!"

The shopkeeper gives us advice on the password with the six hints, where he mentions that it has "something to do with...the sea."

He brings up more info.

Exhausted from that five-on-three battle earlier, I go back to the entrance and save at the cabin there.

---

I sell back the Super Hammer to the shopkeeper, buy a Nautical Dress for Peach, and make my way down into the depths again.

After one battle, I get a chance to get double XP, but I get the wrong pick in the shell game, and I lose the coins I earned!

Geno also levels up, where he learns Geno Whirl! I boost his magical stats!

I eventually make it to the shopkeeper at the ship and buy another Maple Syrup from him. He tells me the same advice to open a certain cabin on the ship...

I then start a battle with a Greaper guarding one of the lower deck cabins...

Inside the cabin, there's a series of hovering J blocks with three cannons at the top of the ledge.

This might be the way to open the doors further into the ship.

Sadly, I don't have enough info, and I choose another cabin to go to, starting another battle with one of the Greapers.

Inside the cabin, I see a ghostly coin moving about, dropping a trail of coins its path. I get a buzzer for a wrong move (touching the moving coin) and start again.

I have to be quick since the dropped coins are only there for a second!

After collecting the coins from the trail, a scroll drops, and I get 160 coins from those 16 big coins!

The scroll gives us this hint:

"It has four consonants." Hmmm...

---

I take care of the last Greaper in the bottom deck, and I'm now at a room with two green switch pads, a door forward, and a save block!

I probably need to have Mario press them both at the same time...

I head up to the top decks and fight the Greaper guarding the west cabin.

Mario gains another level! I boost his physical stats!

So does Mallow! I boost Mallow's magical stats!

In the cabin, I'm greeted with this prompt:

And I can forfeit crossing the maze by pressing X, or triangle.

This is a tricky maze...

I keep jumping randomly at certain spots here.

With some luck and effort, I make it to the top of the maze and hit the switch pad!

A scroll (another hint!) and an item (a Royal Syrup!) drops!

I toss away a Maple Syrup in exchange for the new item.

The next hint says: "It has two vowels."

Aside: By the way, if anyone's made it to this point, how long did it take for you to finish this ship's maze?

---

I get the next Greaper guarding the cabin in the middle.

I'm now in another room with moving bouncepads and floating J blocks above!

Now what am I supposed to do here?

So the blocks stop the bouncepads. Once all the bouncepads are stopped, a cannonball drops! So I have to make sure the cannonball bounces all the way to the green switch pad...

It's all a matter of timing on this puzzle...

After a few tries, the cannonball lands on the switch!

A Flower and another hint drop down!

The third hint: "It is found on the bed of the ocean."

Now to get the fourth hint...

The Straw Head zombifies Peach with a Stench!

Bowser gains another level, and learns Poison Gas! Oooooh! I increase his attack power.

I'm now in a room with a flying Koopa and a big cannonball stacked on top of J crates!

The cannonball drops and then disappears!

I figure out that I have to lure the Koopa to push the cannonball to fall where the switchpad is. Easy win!

A Mushroom and another hint drop!

This hint says that there is an "s" in the password.

I save before taking on the last puzzle.

---

The lower floating J block I hit launches the left cannon.

This is probably another timed puzzle. All I need to do is to have Mario jump and hit the cannonball at the right moment so it will hit the J block on top, which will activate the other cannonball, and so on.

I get it right on the third try!

A Mushroom (the item) and the final hint drops down.

Van Doren's hint says that "at least...two consonants are side by side."

So I've collected five hints so far. There are supposed to be six, but I'm reminded of what the shopkeeper told me, that I won't get them all. I need to "deduce" the password from the hints, he says.

I switch Peach for Mallow and save again.