Keelhaul Camp
After a few days at sea of sailing and shanties the ship will come to a mysterious stop. It will then be overtaken by a horde of pirate ghosts. Eventually, each member of the ship will be knocked off and then the whole ship will go down.
Most members of the crew washed up on shore at Keelhaul Key, where they have set up a temporary settlement. Unfortunately, a few members of the crew are still lost at sea. Head to the left along the cliff and you'll find a blue mole creature called a Whacka. If you whack it with your hammer you'll get the very useful Whacka Bump item. Every time you visit this screen you can whack him for another one for a total of 8 times. After the 8th time, Whacka will dissapear for good.
On the right side of this landing area near the jagged rocks you can ground pound to find Star Piece #69 in a hidden floor panel. Head to the right to find Flavio and Patch agreeing to a duel before being scared by some more pirate ghosts. You'll need to defeat them in battle to protect them.
If you Tattle in this battle you'll learn that this pirate ghosts are called Embers. You'll want to avoid jump attacks or any move with physical contact as these guys are pure flame. Yoshi's gulp or Koops's shell attacks are good options. Their attacks can also cause burn damage. After the battle, Flavio suggests that you should explore the rest of the island.
Here in camp you can visit the left side of the beach to find Star Piece #70 out in the water. All the way on the right side of camp you can find Star Piece #71 behind the jagged rock near the exit. Besides that there's just a small inn and shop in camp, so leave to the right once you are stocked up and healed up.
Saving Admiral Bobbery
As soon as you leave camp whack the first bush to find Star Piece #72. Further to the right you'll find a block containing the Head Rattle badge. There's also a yellow block on the ground here that you can get a Courage Shell from. There are Fuzzies of various colors throughout this area that you'll want to defeat.
On the next screen to the right you'll find a new enemy called Putrid Piranha. They can poison you, so it's a good idea to carry some items that can cure that in this area. Make sure to jump above the block along the wall to reveal another hidden block that creates a platform in the gap above. Continue on the path to the right and you'll find Star Piece #73 behind a tree root on the main path.
You'll have to carefully platform while climbing the next staircase. Once you get to the gap with the hidden block, use Yoshi's flutter jump to make it across. Hit the blue switch to spawn a spring that creates a shortcut back up here. You'll then need to flutter jump to the block to the left to find Shine Sprite #22. It can be a bit tricky to line up this jump, but you'll want to stand in front of the tree where the cliff has a small flat section. Continue to the right and pick up a Thunder Rage from the block before heading to the next screen.
Here you'll find a bridge where all of the missing crew members are being attacked by some Embers. Admiral Bobbery will fend them off while you lead the other two crew members to safety. Head back to the previous area and those two will head back to camp. Return to the bridge to find Admiral Bobbery missing once again.
Before crossing the bridge you can find a staircase near the foreground that leads you to a warp pipe. This will take you to the coconut tree in the background where you can collect two Coconuts. You can then return and cross the bridge and use paper mode to slip through the last slat. You'll drop through and find the Ice Power badge. You can also collect Shine Sprite #23 before heading to the next screen.
Upon entering this area you'll hear Admiral Bobbery in trouble. The Embers have literally chased him up a tree. Defeat the Embers around this tree and whack it to get him down. He seems to think he is dying, and requests a bottle of Chuckola Cola that he brought with him as his last wish.
Return all the way to camp and speak to Flavio. He does have the needed Chuckola Cola, but he needs something to replace it with in his supplies. Hand over one of the Coconuts we found earlier. Return to Bobbery and give him the Chuckola Cola. He will drink it and then say his farewells. As it turns out, he is only sleeping. Give him a whack with your hammer to wake him up and he'll join your party.
Head to the right and check out the mysterious rocks. After investigating Bobbery will point out that he has seen something that might fit in the slot before. Before leaving you can also check behind the rock in the foreground on the left side of the water to find Star Piece #74. Head all the way back to camp and speak with Flavio once again. After some convincing he agrees to join you to check out this skull rock.
Return to the skull rocks with Flavio. Once you arrive speak to Flavio and ask him to lend you the Skull Gem. Place the Skull Gem in the eye slot and the two nearby rocks will grow colored mustaches. You can then speak to Flavio to hear his song that gives you a hint about how to proceed.
Jump on top of the red mustached rock and do 3 ground pounds. Then go to the blue mustached rock and whack it with your hammer four times. This will cause a platform entrance to appear above the skull door. You can then throw Bobbery onto this platform and he'll explode, creating a larger cave entrance. Flavio will then return to camp, leaving you to enter the cave.
Pirate's Grotto
You'll find yourself inside the Pirate's Grotto. Use the save block and then head to the next room. Head down the stairs and take a few leaps of faith to reach the lower level. In the next room you'll find a new Lava Bubble enemy, which is a stronger version of an Ember. You can then hop onto the sunken ship and use the highest point to reach the block containing Shine Sprite #24.
On the other side of the ship you'll see a Lava Bubble guarding Star Piece #75 on a nearby platform. Continue to the right in this room and use Vivian to dodge the spikes that rise from the floor. Then enter the next room.
Watch out as you walk to the right on the bridge, Bullet Bills will be heading right toward you. You can keep using Vivian to dodge them or if you have the First Attack badge on you can defeat them with your hammer outside of battle. When you get to the end of the bridge you'll find the two Bill Blaster enemies that are launching them, which you'll also want to defeat in battle. Continue to the next room.
There is a fallen bridge here but you can just jump across the gap. You'll then come to a larger gap that you'll need to use Yoshi's flutter jump to cross. You'll run into some Bulky Bob-omb enemies. You'll want to take them out quickly before they have a chance to light their fuse. In the next room you can use the heal and save blocks if needed.
Climb up the stairs and you'll see a Shine Sprite block that is hovering above the staircase. Go to the top step and send Koops's shell towards it to reveal a hidden block below it. You can then collect Shine Sprite #25 from above. In the back of the room you'll see a Parabuzzy near a blue switch. Defeat the enemy and then use Bobbery to hit the switch by throwing him on the platform. This will open the nearby gate and you will get a spooky warning from the pirate ghosts.
As soon as you enter the next room ground pound near the doorway to find Star Piece #76 in a hidden floor panel. Defeat the enemies in here and then enter the room to the left. Inside you'll see a red switch that you'll want to hit with a charged Koops shell while you are standing on the middle elevator platform. This platform will take you up to the Grotto Key on the right.
Before leaving this room, repeat the same process but hop onto the counter-weight box to the left while it is lowered. This will take you up even higher where you can find Shine Sprite #26 as well as Star Piece #77 in an open barrel. You can then return to the room with the locked door and save block.
Use the Grotto Key on the locked door and enter the small room. You'll find a few Parabuzzy enemies and you can ground pound in the center of the room to find Star Piece #78. Enter the next door where you'll see a room with rolling waves. Use Koops's shell to collect Shine Sprite #27 to the right. You can either use your tube mode ability or Vivian to avoid the wall spikes and continue left.
As soon as you enter the next room you can find Shine Sprite #28 by whacking a hidden block under it. Continue to the left over the bridge and defeat the enemies along the way. When you get to the end use Bobbery to blow up the rock blocking the entrance.
In the next room you'll have some more Bullet Bills and cannons to take care of. In the next room you'll see another Bulky Bob-omb to defeat. Use Yoshi's flutter jump to get across the gap here and continue left to the save block. Enter the small room and look behind the black chest to find the P-Down, D-Up badge. You can also find a Super Mushroom in the nearby chest.
Attempt to open the Black Chest and you'll once again get the spiel about finding a key but Mario is already aware of the curse this time around. An Ember will then appear and you'll need to defeat it to get the Black Key. Use it to open the chest and you'll be cursed with the paper boat ability. This lets you turn into a boat and sail on water by pressing "Y" on boat panels.
Exit the room and you'll be able to try out the new ability right away on the boat panel to the right. Keep backtracking to the right and you'll be ambushed by some enemies in the next room. Defeat them and continue to the right, backtracking all the way to the save block room with the staircase.
Head up the stairs and enter the room to the left where you can use a boat panel. Head to the right and float behind the waterfall to find a secret room. Inside you'll find a chest containing the Defend Plus P badge. Sail back to the room to the left and go over the large waterfall.
Keep sailing all the way to the left until you reach the next boat panel. Get off at this panel and climb to the top of the ship to the left to find the Gate Handle. Hop down off the boat to the left and head back two rooms to the right, using Vivian to dodge the spikes once again. In the next room, use the Gate Handle on the mechanism to raise the nearby gate.
Head back up the stairs in the room to the right to reach the above boat panel once again. Sail back over the large waterfall and right through the gate you just opened. Head to the right to the room with the rolling waves. You'll need to dodge all the waves as you continue right to the next room.
Once inside this room a group of stranded Toads will call out for you to help them. Continue sailing to the right to the next boat panel. Enter the warp pipe to be taken to the background and make your way all the way to the left to another warp pipe. Enter it and use the plane panel to reach one of the other two warp pipes in this room.
Each of these two warp pipes leads to a blue switch that spawns some barrels to the right. Repeat the process of using the plane panel to hit each switch. These barrels have created a path that lets the Toads escape. As a little bonus you'll also see that Frankie and Francesca escape as well. Use the plane panel a final time to reach the boat they were stranded on and use the same escape route.
When you arrive with the saved group they'll tell you what happened and give you a warning that Cortez is nearby. Enter the next room and the X-Naut spy will show up since he's apparently been following you waiting for you to collect the Crystal Star. He's still in disguise for now, so just ignore him and use the save and heal blocks before the boss fight.
Cortez
Enter the door on the ship and then one more door to find the treasure room. As expected, the ghost pirate Cortez was waiting for you in here. Make sure to Tattle right away and you'll learn that Cortez has an HP of 20, Attack of 4, and Defense of 1. While the HP may seem low, Cortez has three different phases and you'll need to deplete that multiple times. The first two phases are quite straightforward, just deal as much damage to Cortez as you can. Bobbery is a solid choice for this.
For the third phase, Cortez summons seveal weapons that can each attack you individually. Most of your attacks won't work as you will get hurt if you get anywhere near them. However, a single Gale Force from Flurrie will clear them completely. You can then focus on just attacking Cortez's skull. Once Cortez is low on health, he will suck in audience members to fully regain his health one more time.
After you defeat Cortez he will resurrect once again. He is a ghost pirate after all. As it turns out though, he doesn't really care about the Crystal Star and gives it to you when you ask. Your star power will increase and you'll learn the new special move "Sweet Feast".
Escaping Keelhaul Key
You'll then be thrown out of the ship and need to use Yoshi's flutter jump to head back left. Make your way through the crowd of Toads and throw Bobbery up near the cracked wall to create an escape route. This cave exits just to the left of camp, so head back there. Flavio and his crew will reunite with you but the X-Naut spy, who turns out to be Lord Crump, will return with his own ship to attack.
Flavio gets the idea of asking Cortez to borrow his ship to escape, so lead him back there so he can negotiate. As it turns out, the Skull Gem is what powers Cortez's ship. Flavio will agree to trade it for a ride to safety. Head back out to the deck and the pirate ship will set sail and attack Lord Crump's ship. The two will collide and you will need to battle Lord Crump.
In this fight Lord Crump will have 30 HP, 3 Attack, and 0 Defense. He will also summon a platoon of X-Naut minions every two turns if you've defeated the last group. This means you should focus your attacks on Lord Crump to make progress.
After depleting his HP the first time, he will be completely healed by his minions. He'll then start summoning a huge minion horde with 10 HP that will be immediately replaced upon defeat. Completely ignore them and focus all your attacks on Lord Crump. They will dissapear immediately when he is defeated. Lord Crump will then flee on his ship.
Peach
The perspective will then switch back to Peach at the X-Naut hideout. Lord Crump gives a report of his loss to Grodus. Afteward he orders an attack on Mario from the Three Shadows. TEC then calls Peach into his room again and requests that she steal a Data Disk from Grodus. Once you're in control of Peach, take the elevator to the second floor. Head left down the hallway to the door with the green lamp.
When you enter this room TEC will instruct you to create an invisibility potion. You'll need to pick up all the potions in this room and read the memos to figure out the correct order to place them in the machine on the back wall. The correct order from left to right must be "red, blue, yellow, green". Place them in that order and press the button on the left to combine them. Then press each button as the beaker passes by to fill it. You'll then need to heat it for exactly 30 seconds (a timer is helpful) to finish the potion. If it was made correctly, it will make you invisible. If not, you'll need to try again.
Once invisible, head all the way to the right and enter the throne room. Go through the door behind the throne and search the bookshelf in the back to find the Data Disk. You'll then need to insert the disk into the computer. Return the disk and then return to the potion room. Walk up to the green potion and drink it to return back to normal. Exit the room and you'll be back in the computer room with TEC. You'll then be able to send Mario another email.
Bowser
As per usual, Bowser is late to the party and looking for a Crystal Star in Twilight Town. Speak to Lord Crump to overhear him also looking for a Crystal Star. The two will have a standoff and summon their respective armies. A superbomomb comes into play and Bowser manages to use it to explode on everybody in the vicinity.
Rogueport Collectibles
Back at Keelhaul Key, Mario and the rescuees will be ready to sail back to Rogueport, although some will stay behind to live at the camp established there. Back in Rogueport, Flavio will take all the credit and Cortez will offer to take you back to Keelhaul Key whenever you'd like.
Back at the docks, you can speak with Luigi to get an update on his adventure. Next to Luigi you'll find a boat panel. Use it to sail all the way left to find a hidden alcove. Open the chest here to find the HP Drain badge. You can also search behind the barrels to the right to find Star Piece #79.
Head to East Rogueport and slip through the buildings to get behind them. Use the boat panel here to sail back to in front of the buildings. You can get off at another boat panel and open the chest to find the Double Dip badge.
Enter Rogueport Sewers via the main pipe on the east side of town. You'll notice a cracked wall to your left that you can now blow up with Bobbery. Do so and enter the warp pipe to find Chet Rippos's Adjustment House. Here you can pay Chet Rippo to respec Mario or his partner's upgrades. In order to increase one stat, you must decrease another. One interesting thing you can do if you want is reduce your overall HP to only 5, which is when many benefits from badges trigger. If you have a lot of BP and the right badges, this can make Mario a very powerful glass cannon.
Head right to the next room that we first used to reach Petalburg. There is a boat panel in here that you can use to sail to the right and find Shine Sprite #29. Now head back all the way left where Dazzle is. You can now use Bobbery to blow up the pillar to the left and connect this room to the Underground City, creating a shortcut.
Head all the way left through the city back to the room under West Rogueport. Hop down and enter the pipe that brings you to sublevel two. You'll notice there are now stronger enemies in the sewers as well. Defeat them and head left down the stairs. You'll see a green pipe where we blew away a panel with Flurrie earlier. Rather than enter the pipe, head left through a secret entrance. This leads you to a boat panel that you can use to sail all the way to the right in the sewers. Take it all the way to the right to find a secret room with a bunch of Spinia and Spunia enemies.
You'll also find Shine Sprite #30 and Shine Sprite #31. You can also get the Defend Plus badge here. You'll need to use Yoshi's flutter jump to reach the moving platform and then grab the badge with Koops's shell. There is a third Shine Sprite in this room, but it's difficult to get without an ability we'll get a little later on.
Head to sublevel three of Rogueport Sewers and visit the Thousand Year Door room. Place your new Crystal Star in the door and the location of the next Crystal Star will be revealed on your map. You'll be taken to Professor Frankly's house where he explains that the location is in Poshley Heights. In order to reach it we must ride the Excess Express train.
Up Arrow
When you exit Professor Frankly's you'll notice Merlon standing in front of his house. Speak to him and he'll give you a clue about something hidden in Hooktail Castle. Visit the warp pipe room and a new pipe to Keelhaul Key will spawn. However, we actually want to take the pipe back to Petalburg and then head west to Hooktail Castle.
Navigate all the way to the right on the first floor of Hooktail Castle. You'll eventually reach the room with the black chest that we got the paper mode curse from. Continue right to the next room and you'll notice a crack on the right wall. Blow it up with Bobbery and hit the blue switch to reveal a chest. Inside you'll find the Up Arrow. You can then head back to Rogueport.
Return to Merlon and give him the Up Arrow. This will allow you to spend 3 more Shine Sprites to upgrade your partners to Ultra Rank, making them more powerful and teaching them an additional move. If you've been following along so far you should have all of your partners upgraded once and be able to do 3 Ultra Rank upgrades now. You can choose to upgrade whoever you like, but Goombella, Yoshi, and Bobbery are probably the most useful.
Trouble Center Quests
Tell that person...
Eve wants you to deliver a message to someone. Use the warp pipe room and take #4 to Twilight Town. Enter her house on the left and speak with Eve. She wants you to arrange a meeting between her and her former love, Podley.
Head back to Rogueport and speak to Podley behind the bar at the Inn. Rather cold heartedly, he pretends not to know who Eve is but still gives you a small message to deliver. Head back to Eve in Twilight Town and deliver this message. Choose "Tell her the truth" and she will take the message rather well. As a reward you will get a Meteor Meal.
Looking for a gal!
Goom Goom is living his best life but he really wants a girlfriend. Take the warp pipe to Keelhaul Key and enter the Pirate's Grotto. You'll have to find your way to the top of the Pirate's Grotto Waterfall to find the store room. Depending on which entrance you used, sail or walk your way to the room with the staircase to reach the second floor. Then head all the way to the left to find the store room.
Speak to Goom Goom near the barrels while Goombella is your partner. He tries out a cheesy pick up line and Goombella says she is going out with Mario to get out of it. Goom Goom storms out and leaves behind a Couple's Cake that you can take as a reward.
Don Pianta
Head to West Rogueport and blow up the wall next to the item shop. This leads to an alley where you'll find Shine Sprite #32. Afteward, head through the item shop and out the other side to visit Don Pianta's office. Inside you'll find him lying sick in bed. His guys explain the situation and ask you to bring his daughter Francesca back to visit.
Use the warp pipe to head back to Keelhaul Key. Head right into the jungle and you'll find Frankie and Francesca by the pond. As it turns out, they lost Francesca's wedding ring and can't leave until it is found. After listening to Frankie declare his love 100 times, you must help them search for the ring.
Head further into the jungle to the area next to the large palm tree and Skull Rock. You'll see a sparkling bush next to the tree. Whack it to find a Wedding Ring. Return to Frankie and Francesca to give them the ring. You can then head for the docks to find the couple waiting for you on the pirate ship to return to Rogueport.
Follow Frankie and Francesca back to Don Pianta's. You'll find him in bed, but he quickly wakes up when you speak to him and he sees Francesca. Don Pianta has decided that he wants the two to live with him, and he's going to retire. He asks Frankie to take over the syndicate. As a reward for helping him, he'll give you a Train Ticket.
As you leave the item shop after getting the ticket, you'll see that Beldam has been lying around waiting to hear where the next Crystal Star is. She doesn't attack you for now, but instead tries to beat you to Poshley Heights. Start heading there yourself by going north to the train station. Speak to the conductor toad to show him your ticket and board the train, thus starting the next chapter.
Back to Chapter 4: For Pigs the Bell Tolls
