Aww… look at that adorable Squiglet- says this card description in Super Paper Mario.
So adorable… under your foot.
Welcome to the third and final episode of my Dark Aspects of Paper Mario, where I'll
look now at the Wii's 2007 release.
This dapper fellow over here on the box is Count Bleck, and he's the villain of this
game.
He's also a nihilistic murderer that wants everything eradicated from existence.
All life in the uni and multiverse, including himself.
If you think I am at all exaggerating, meet the focus of today's episode: a tragic character
fittingly introduced in the most plot-focused Mario adventure ever made.
I will now explain his backstory, using 100% actual lore found in the game through NPC
dialogue and heavy story implications.
Be warned- this will spoil the main plot and ending.
Without further ado,
Ahem!
"The Ancients" through historical tellings were an intelligent civilization and gifted
in the powers of magic- though they lacked physical strength.
To make up for this major drawback, the tribe invented "thinking tools" they called
Pixls, using knowledge from a mysterious book that would later be dubbed the "Dark Prognosticus".
These Pixls were cherished for ability to fortify, and were capable of building worlds
that would further spread The Ancients influence.
But after 1000 years of being in control of these entities- the Pixls rebelled by influence
of their Queen: the very first Pixl ever made.
The other first 12 Pixls helped fight with the Ancients against their Queen- but unfortunately
this uprising resulted in only one single survivor of the tribe.
That survivor learned the truth behind Pixls- they were born by using the souls of those
that had died: The Pixl Queen being the deceased daughter of the Ancient that invented Pixls.
That one surviving Ancient took the Dark Prognosticus so an event like the foretold Pixl war wouldn't
happen again.
In doing this, he also founded a new group- The Tribe of Darkness.
Their goal was to protect humankind and prevent the book from misuse, though descendants of
the Ancients twisted the real history and wrongfully believed the Tribe of Darkness
stole it only to enhance their power.
This generation has since banned the production of any new Pixls, in fear of a second rebellion
that would ultimately lead to their downfall.
This new Tribe of Darkness became very secretive from the rest of the world, and forbade marriage
outside of their circle- in fear of diluting their sorcerer blood.
Normal humans were completely off limits, which is where Bleck comes in...
Gradually told in a series of flashbacks at the end of each chapter, it's revealed his
backstory: before he became the Count, his name was Blumiere and he fell in love with
a human woman named Timpani that saved him after a fall from the cliffside.
After proposing marriage and agreeing to live life far away from the tribe that wants them
apart, it's learned that his father made Timpani "no longer reside in this world".
Thinking Timpani was murdered (but actually had her memory wiped and cursed to quote "wander
through dimensions forever"), Blumiere opened the Dark Prognosticus to use for his newfound
life philosophy- to actually put in motion his idea that nothing should exist since everything
in the universe is pointless and bleak.
He's had the sole person he's loved taken away from him- so, his approach is utterly
nihilistic- to destroy all until nothing is left.
So what does Count Bleck do to kickstart this plan?
Within the first minute we're shown exactly how, as the player's thrown right into a
cutscene in which Peach is forcibly being married to Bowser- the Count acting as the
unholy wedding's priest.
This non-consensual bond forms a world-ending catalyst known as the Chaos Heart: just as
predicted in the Dark Prognosticus.
With magic force to make her say "I do", the union is successful and sets course for
complete annihilation.
After the Chaos Heart is born into the world, "The Void" was formed as a result- an
ever growing, dimension-eating black hole that appears everywhere in the universe without
exception.
I say "without exception", because this Void also appears in this game's version
of heaven and the underworld.
That very fact is terrifyingly existential when thinking critically- because it means
that not even the afterlife is safe from non-existence.
The Count's plan will delete all forms of thought, comprehension, and consciousness
from all of being.
And as such, the stakes could not be raised any higher than this.
Comparable to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, in which the moon is on a crash-course
to kill all of Termina's inhabitants, the NPCs reveal how they're preparing for the
upcoming apocalypse through their dialogue interactions.
Right before facing Bleck, many characters approach their inevitable doom with a mix
of fear and surprising earnest in the overworld- some accepting death while others reflecting
on what the point of their lives were and whether or not they're happy..
It's respectable and sad, adding more depth and realism to this time and space the player's
trying to save.
Surprising too is fact that we're shown -not simply told- how powerful the Void really
is.
Sammer's Kingdom (a location we'll talk about later) hosts a "Duel of 100" tournament,
in which the player must fight 100 challengers in order to meet with the King and claim the
treasure needed to counter the dark power of Bleck's Chaos Heart.
As I mentioned before, and because this chapter is accessible fairly late into the game- the
Void is gradually increasing in size and at its largest now.
Look at that thing!
In an effective display of storytelling, the party is told they must face every opponent
before receiving that world's Pure Heart, though after floor 20 the Void has grown so
massive the ground begins to tremble and each Vassal bows their knee to allow Mario to hurry
through and make it to the King.
This makes for a very tense atmosphere as the normally prideful, in-your-face Sammer
Guys stop their introductions short: until they halt greetings entirely and simply yell
at you to rush towards the final gate.
But no matter how quick you are, the player's efforts are fruitless as eventually a hopeless,
manic warrior laughs off the impending doom and flees.
Tippi exclaims the worst, and Sammer's Kingdom ceases to be.
The player can re-enter this eliminated world to reclaim a Pure Heart sapped of its power-
showing only the vast emptiness that remains.
The player must traverse white space with the occasional rubble and collapse- while
a bleak music track plays driving hard what's been lost.
This is emotionally impactful.
The entire setup and payoff of Chapter 6 is an example of how to make an audience care
for what they're doing: this act of showing us the aftermath was a brilliant move and
one of the most memorable narrative moments in Mario's history for those that have experienced
it.
Mimi, a servant of Count Bleck, has helped initiate this apocalypse by stalling time:
one of several the man's gathered and wrongly told this is all necessary to build a new,
better world upon destroying the current one.
However as we learn from his monologue, the true plan from the beginning was really to
obliterate himself and everything.
Dimentio- the real final boss of the game- actually knew of this and planned to betray
the tormented Count when the Pure Hearts were used up by Mario's team to fight him.
The good part about all this, is that even after a defeated, regretful Count wants Mario
to put an end to him- Mario's Pixl companion throughout the quest helps Blumiere come to
his senses.
Through slow buildup throughout the past chapter, it's realized that Tippi is actually Timpani-
transformed into a Pixl by Merlon as a last-ditch effort when he found the woman "barely alive".
Note that (as stated way back) Pixls are created with the souls of the dead.
As the two are finally reunited again, they move quickly to the altar used at the beginning
of the game- exchange love vows with one another, and vanish- leaving behind a restored Pure
Heart (the embodiment of love) to null the Chaos Heart.
Nobody knows where they went, and Natasha (Bleck's closest assistant, also revealed
to have been in love with him albeit one-sided) believes them to be alive somewhere.
The credits roll and afterwards, a picture of Timpani as a human with Blumiere appears
on screen.
This was the "place" they promised to find in the flashbacks that would accept their
love.
It's very touching, and whether this is their afterlife or not (Bleck did say it would
cause both their demise) it's reassuring that their souls are together again at peace.
Count Bleck's previous dedication in wanting life to end is extremely depressing and makes
for a heartrending end, with an impactful moral as even this man (who remember, did
murder his own father and tribe) is deserving of happiness, redemption, and Timpani's
acceptance.
Additionally, his main theme is derived from the melancholy "Memory" track that plays
during the cutscenes revealing his past with Timpani, and their eventual reunion.
It's a perfectly touching tie-in that only accentuates the story.
And whether you like that sort of plottelling or not, it's no doubt the writers really
tried to construct a universe away from the typical Mario game- and expand on every detail.
Super Paper Mario has possibly the most external lore to find in any game of the franchise-
meaning aside from the main plot, veering off and speaking to characters like Garson
the Milk Bar owner and his Flopside counterpart Carson the Coffee barista- revealing so much
more world-building information that connects everything I've been speaking about.
In fact, they provided most of the filling-in-the blanks about Pixls I first discussed in the
video!
Continuing this world-building we have The Pit of 100 Trials: a multi-layered dungeon
in the previous game and a series of rooms designed for torture.
In this sequel, there are two descending pits- and, according to these two gossipers- one
was used "by the Ancients to research the power of the Pure Hearts"- while the other
was to simply "study the powers of darkness".
Their experiments involved all sorts of "nasty" enemies from throughout the game's worlds,
explaining why they occupy each floor- with two boss monsters housed at the basements
of each pit.
This includes an upgraded mechanical dragon fought early on in the game, and "Shadoo"
a shapeshifting demon that acts as the final challenge to this side quest.
The duplicator works for its own cursed powers, and reveals that it asked the main cast to
complete the Pit simply as a way to study and clone their character.
Its goal was to perfectly replicate and replace the heroes to seek revenge on The Ancients-
an interesting bit of story that adds to the overarching one.
Both it and Wracktail had a hatred for their creators, the latter we know for imprisonment.
But just what is Shadoo?
These tidbits of lore add a lot of intrigue to the game's history with the mysteries
of these Ancients this game so loves to talk about.
Shadoo's origin is left vague enough to investigate further, but satisfies curiosity
and is worth talking about because the developers cared enough to build this world and constantly
reference in-game events.
Transfering to my segment of hidden sexual themes within the game, and for a little break
from the darker topics, we have another tale from Garson- this time gossiping about the
Ancients and their supposed passion for love.
Sorry, I meant HOT burning passion.
Capitalized.
He even whispers about an Ancient sage the player meets early on- Merlumina and her particularly
"spicy" love life.
So if all the Ancients were so passionate, and Merlumina was the most promiscuous- just
what is she romantically competing against?
Well, if you remember the Sammer Kingdom and its 100 soldiers- these fighters are said
to be the children of King Sammer and Merlumina's younger sister.
If her sister gave birth to 100 kids and Merlumina is the one with a spicy love life, we can
get a glimpse of just how passionate this tribe really was.
Take that in for a minute.
Speaking of, Garson goes on to say "The 100 princes and their royal parents ushered
in a new era of prosperity.
Imagine all the budding romances with 100 strapping princes around..".
Goodness, who would have expected that kind of dialogue and topic from this series?
Moving forward, additional sexual references include:
Dimentio (another one of Bleck's minions) calling Luigi's mustache a shag to insult
him.
This was censored in the PAL region because in Great Britain, "shag" is slang for
sex.
Mimi also dreams of pools filled with hunky lifeguards, revealed by Dimentio upon reading
her diary.
Embarrassed, she transforms into Bowser- a reference to the first game in which Peach
must read his diary to learn where Mario has to travel next.
While on the topic of Mimi, and like Shadoo- Caron brings up the important question of
what exactly she is.
Both offers of an answer involve her being a "failed experiment" of sorts, whether
it be an attempt at creating a new Pixl or a witch's unintended brewing.
A potion with mimicking properties would explain her ability- and may give reason for her terrifying
"true" form.
That's right, as hinted by Tippi this is not the real Mimi- undergoing a horrific transformation
(wow, more like Majora's Mask than I thought) in which her neck audibly snaps and head rotates
around.
It uncomfortably stops upside down, where spider-legs sprout out from where her neck
was to become this beast.
A deranged laugh using her name is accompanied by a purple-jagged text box usually reserved
for the series' most sinister villains, where it then proceeds to chase you around
(in its first appearance, throughout a maze where it will warp to try and catch up to
you).
Nerve-racking and classically scary being a creepy-crawler: paired with her innocent
girl to gag-inducing metamorphosis- provides some of the game's greater nightmare fuel.
Before we move away with Mimi, it's also worth mentioning her prominence before this
as a ringleader: enslaving Mario & Peach by locking them in a mansion and forcing them
to pay off a massive debt for breaking an inexpensive vase.
The slavery theme is played heavily here, with those that thought were going to Merlee's
mansion for a charm were instead tricked into the same position Mario's in as a prisoner.
In worse shape than you, these unfortunate souls are bound by ball & chains and serve
by direction of these whip-wielding "Ackpows".
Clearly inspired by ancient Egyptian labor systems, it's certainly an unexpected direction
to interact with and work as a peasant in inhumane circumstances.
Getting back to what I mentioned about this game's afterlife, there is frequent talk
of death in this game.
"Death" itself in usually always spoken of with the pretty clever euphemism "game
over".
As in, that character lost his last life, without any extra chances.
For the team at Super Paper Mario to write-in "game overs" as an actual story consequence
is incredible and something I hope to see revisited in a future Mario RPG.
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