__ __ |\ /| _ _ _ \ _ | _ _ _ _ _|_ / _ _ _|_ | _ | \/ | |_| |* | | |_ -- |_ / | |_ | | / \ |_ | | |_ | | | | || |_| _| __| |_ \_ | |_ | \__ \_/\ _| | |_ |_ Mario's Secret Castle by Hal http://members.cox.net/defgav/msc/mario.html Operation Manual -- GAME STORY/PROLOGUE After SMB3, things were cool in the Mushroom Kingdom for a while, but of course Bowser eventually captured Princess Toadstool again. He brought her to a strange abandoned castle that he found and took over. So now Mario has to go through the castle and save her. (Luigi is on vacation.) Bowser put a curse on the castle that prevents "big" Mario from wearing his lucky hat, so now he can't smash bricks with his head. But lucky for him, the castle is old and the bricks are sometimes not very strong, so his fireballs might work. Some of the friendly Subcon guys from SMB2 have infiltrated the castle and they'll help Mario out by shrinking him so he can slip through little openings. The castle is very dangerous, but Mario is the Princess's only hope! OBJECT OF THE GAME Go through the castle by finding keys to unlock the hidden doors. Along the way, Mario can also find coins as well as shops where he can get helpful items. He'll also have to beat the 7 bosses and collect the magic balls they hold. Then, before Mario can face Bowser, he'll need to find the Princess's two mystical items. But they're being protected by two tough enemies. CONTROL FUNCTIONS (A) button, Mario jumps. (B) button shoots the bubble upwards (up) to enter through door, or window. (left and right) to move Mario left or right (down) use with (B) to shoot bubbles downward. (START) button begins the game or pauses action during a game. THE ROOMS OF THE CASTLE The main rooms contain a lot of enemies and hidden coins and helpful items. In order to get out of the room, you must find the door (hidden in the room) and a key (it will appear when destroying the enemies or breaking the blocks). Once you get the key, you will be free to go in and out of the room anytime. When you get the key, it will be indicated on the top right hand corner of the screen. Mario's Energy Level Marios's energy level is displayed on left hand side of the screen. Energy will decrease when hit by enemies. The game will be over when you lose all of the energy. Increase energy by collecting hearts that sometimes appear when you kill an enemy. Mario's Weapons Mario's weapon is fireballs to begin the game. The fireballs are used to kill enemies and to find coins and stuff. As Mario advances in the castle, he has the opportunity to power up to better weapons. Hidden Items By shooting and breaking the blocks with your fireballs, you will find many items. Coin- Save the coins to buy helpful items at the Item Shop. Mushroom- Getting the mushroom will add an extra level to Mario's Energy Level and fill it up. There's one hidden in almost every room. Star- Catch the star to get a protective shield around Mario. It will protect him against attacks for a brief period of time. Again, there's one hidden in almost every room, but they are hard to catch. Plus there are more hidden items other than what is listed above. ITEM SHOP There are shops inside the castle where Mario can get items and hints. Find hidden shops by shooting around and pushing on certain blocks. ____________________________________________ | ITEMS | | | ___________ | /^\ | <----(4) (1)----> | | | | | | | | | |_| | |- ----------- | o-o | (2)----> |- | | | | | | | | | |- ----------- | MAY I HELP YOU | <----(5) |- •x2 (3) | ? | |_________________|__________________________| | | | _ | | HINTS | HINTS | |_| $16 | |______________|____________|________________| <----(6) | (_) (_) (_) | | | | | |____________________________________________| (1) Shows the items you have. (2) Shows the number of coins and magic balls you have. (3) Shows the two mystical items you have. (4) Shows the magic balls collected. (5) Message Board: hints or how to use items. (6) Shows items and their prices. Bump head to get them. There are 12 items in shops hidden within the castle. Some are helpful but unneccesary, while others MUST be found in order to advance though the castle. On the ground floor, Mario will need to get the note block (to jump on springs) and the leaf (to shrink when touched by a Subcon guy). BOSS ROOM If you fulfill certain requirements and enter this room, a boss will appear. Mario must beat the boss in order to advance to the next level. However, the bosses are tough enemies (even though some of them look like crap... literally!), so better arm Mario with helpful items and be sure his energy is at the maximum level before entering. Magic Ball When Mario beats a boss, a magic ball will appear. This magic ball will strengthen Mario's firepower or make shooting distance longer and will allow Mario to advance to the next level of the Castle. He must collect a total of seven magic balls to save Princess Toadstool. Collecting the first magic ball also gives Mario the power to perform the "continue trick". To do this trick, after you die, push left on the control pad and push the Start Button. If Mario trys his best, but keeps getting his ass kicked by a boss, he can puss-out and do the "invincibility trick" by typing in SZNSLZSA into the ROM patch / genie code area in your emulator. Other Stuff Fire Flower- Catching a fire flower will allow Mario to rapid-fire his weapon. Coin Ship- Get the coin ship to enter the bonus stage. Seven ships are hidden in the castle, so use your head to find them. In the bonus stage, collect the bonus thingys, but avoid the hammers. the end