Editing Merlee's Mansion

{{level infobox
|title=Merlee's Mansion
|image=[[File:MerleesMansionSPM.png|250px]]
|code=2-2, 2-3
|game=''[[Super Paper Mario]]''
|before=[[Gloam Valley|<<]]
|after=[[Merlee's Basement|>>]]
|track="Merlee's Mansion"
|sample=[[File:SPM Merlee's Mansion.oga]]
}}
{{quote|{{color|gray|Beautiful, mysterious Merlee! Mistress of the house, it's me! So glad it's you I see!}}|Merlee|Super Paper Mario}}
'''Merlee's Mansion''' is the home of [[Merlee#Super Paper Mario|Merlee]] in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''. It is the setting of Chapters 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4. Merlee's Mansion is a large manor that lies in the perpetually twilit [[Gloam Valley]]. During Chapter 2, Merlee's Mansion was taken over by [[Mimi]], one of [[Count Bleck]]'s minions. The main part of the mansion has no enemies, though the traps and basement are full of them. 

==Chapter 2-2: Tricks, Treats, Traps==
'''Storyline text'''
<blockquote>''On the far-side of a beast-ridden swamp, Mario and Co. found an imposing residence.''

''"This must be Merlee's Mansion!" squealed Princess Peach with glee.''

''If our friends could only find the Pure Heart quickly, their quest here would end.''

''But when has fate ever set Mario on such a simple path?''

''Brimming with anticipation, our plucky heroes plunged into Merlee's Mansion...''</blockquote>

[[File:MerleesEntry.PNG|thumb|Merlee is gone.]]
In the twilit [[Gloam Valley]], [[Mario]] and [[Princess Peach|Peach]] discover Merlee's Mansion. Outside, Mario can find a [[Coin Block]] behind the bushes by [[Flip]]ping, as well as a sign in front of the mansion reading:<br>
<blockquote>"Believers, open the door!
Non-Believers open it NOW!<br>
--Mysterious Magical [[Merlee]]"</blockquote>
On the right of the mansion is a hard block on the ground. Above it is an Invisible Block that reveals a ladder up to a platform. Using Peach's parasol, the player can float to the mansion's roof to find a chest containing a [[Stop Watch]]. From there, they can jump to the balcony to get a [[Cursya]] [[Catch Card|Card]].

The mansion's entryway is protected by two [[Gnip]]s, who will throw Mario and Peach out of the house if they catch them. Beyond them is Merlee's crystal ball and some curtains. Mario's flip reveals a door behind the curtains. In the next room, there is a [[Save Block]] and [[Mimi]], as well as two groups of doors, three on the bottom floor and three on the top floor. The door on the far right bottom is locked. [[Gnaw]], a giant Gnip, is chained to this door. Mimi tells Mario that Merlee is on the top far right door and warns him not to go into any other rooms. The other rooms are filled with traps that get Mario nowhere. The far right room is empty except for a button on the far right of it. The button activates bars on the windows and causes the spiky ceiling to descend. Using Mario's flip, the player must ride the ceiling up like an elevator.

The area the elevator leads to has a [[? Block]] on the right and a platform leading up to another level on the left. The top level has alternating walls of [[Brick Block]]s and hard blocks. [[Boomer (Super Paper Mario)|Boomer]] can destroy the bricks, but Mario's flip must be used to get past the hard blocks. At the far right is a chest with the key to the locked door in the main room. Unlocking the door also frees Gnaw, who goes after Mimi, much to the surprise and confusion of Mario and co.. They enter the door and continue into the mansion.

===Enemies===
<gallery>
File:Boo SPM sprite.png|100px|[[Boo]]
File:SPM Gnaw Catch Card.png|100px|[[Gnaw]] (Growl in PAL versions) (not actually fought; will throw the player out of the mansion)
File:SPM Gnip Catch Card.png|100px|[[Gnip]] (Howl in PAL versions) (not actually fought; will throw the player out of the mansion)
File:SPMShlurp.png|100px|[[Shlurp]]
File:SPMSwooper.png|100px|[[Swoop]]er
File:SPM Megabite Catch Card.png|100px|[[Megabite]] (front yard)
</gallery>

===Items===
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
!Item
!Icon
!Location
|-
|[[Stop Watch]]
|[[File:Stop Watch SPM.png]]
|align=left|In the chest on top of Merlee's Mansion.
|-
|Caught Card
|[[File:CatchCardOrangeSPM.png]]
|align=left|
*[[Cursya]], in the chest on the balcony above the front door of Merlee's Mansion.
*[[Gnip]] '''(Map 14)''', use [[Fleep]] on the elongated picture frame, same area where the Gnaw was.
|-
|[[Catch Card SP]]
|[[File:Catch Card SP SPM.png]]
|align=left|'''(Map 13)''', use Fleep on the first window eastward from the front door of Merlee's Mansion.
|}

===Menu description===
*''"A mysterious fog hangs about Merlee's sprawling mansion. But where's Merlee? The only one here is Mimi. Oh, and some guard dogs that throw you out of the mansion."''

==Chapter 2-3: Breaking the [[Rubee Savings and Loan|Bank]]==
'''Storyline text'''
<blockquote>''Mario and friends kept up their search, delving ever deeper into the mansion.''

''{{hover|Wherever they looked, though, they found no sign of Merlee.|Wherever they looked, they found no sign of Merlee. (PAL version)}}''

''Where was this mysterious woman?''

''"Ah, maybe...this way..." So said Tippi, trying to sense the Pure Heart's location...''

''{{hover|With dread dangling like a broken chandelier, our heroes hurried through corridors...|With dread dangling like a broken chandelier, our heroes hurried onwards. (PAL version)}}''</blockquote>

[[File:SPM VIP Room Wheel.png|thumb|left|Mario being used for slave labor to pay off the debt he owes Mimi.]]
[[File:SPM Chapter 2-3.png|thumb|Mario seeking faster methods to reach 1,000,000 Rubees.]]
As Mario and Peach delve deeper into [[Merlee]]'s Mansion, they come upon a [[? Block]] with a [[Shy Guy]]-themed vase on it. They hit or jump onto the [[block]], but the vase falls off and breaks. [[Mimi]] rushes in and forces [[Mario]] and [[Princess Peach|Peach]] to pay her 1,000,000 [[Rubee]]s as a consequence for breaking the vase. Unable to pay, they are forced to work off their debt. They also discover some other men who fell for the same trick and so became [[Mimi]]'s prisoners. There is a normal generator room where workers should hit blocks repeatedly to earn Rubees, and another VIP room where workers can run in wheels to make volts to earn Rubees faster. The rate at which the "sparks" are produced from the wheel spinning at various speeds does not affect the Rubees earned. That means [[Mario]] will earn the same amount of Rubees by  running, sliding, or using [[Dashell]]; Rubees gained only depend on the amount of time spent.

The password to the VIP room is 5963. This password can be traded from a worker for 100 Rubees. Mario and Peach soon learn of a secret [[Rubee]] vault hidden away in the attic. With the help of a newly-acquired [[Pixl]], [[Slim (Pixl)|Slim]], Mario and Peach reach the vault, which contains 1,000,000 Rubees. These Rubees are held in a safe with the password 41262816. This password is heard from Mimi sleeptalking by a worker and can be traded for 10,000 Rubees. Eventually Mario and Peach pay off their debt to a shocked Mimi, who explodes out of anger. Mario and Peach now advance further into the mansion by entering [[Merlee's Basement]], hoping to find Merlee.

The debt can also be paid off without ever stealing from Mimi's safe, but Slim is required to reach the Star Block to end the chapter.

Much later on in the game, in [[Castle Bleck Interior|Chapter 8-3]], [[Mario]] and [[Luigi]] chase [[Dimentio]] through this area to where the safe is located.
{{br}}

===Items===
Not seen here are the Rubees, which are the main collectible of the chapter and are not seen as collectibles afterwards.
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
!Item
!Icon
!Location
!Image
|-
|[[Catch Card|Caught Card]]
|[[File:CatchCardOrangeSPM.png]]
|align=left|[[Boo]], in the chest via a 3D-accessible but bricked-up area above the door to Mimi's office.
|[[File:Merlee's Mansion (2-3) Treasure Chest 1.png|250px]]
|-
|[[Coin#Super_Paper_Mario|Coin]]
|[[File:SPM Coin.svg|39px]]
|align=left|In the middle of the first floor on the first room. Also accessible during the Dimentio chase in chapter 8-3.
|[[File:Merlee's Mansion (2-3) Block 1.png|250px]]
|-
|[[Mushroom#Super_Paper_Mario|Mushroom]]
|[[File:Mushroom SPM.png]]
|align=left|In the room behind the door on the second floor. Contents of the block depend on if the group has at least 10 Rubees: If they don't have them, striking this block does nothing. But if they have them, striking this block spawns a Mushroom. Leaving the room respawns the block.
|[[File:Merlee's Mansion (2-3) Block 2.png|250px]]
|-
|[[Slim (Pixl)|Slim]]
|[[File:SPM Slim Sprite.png|50px]]
|align=left|In the secret section of the first room found after going to west part of the second floor and flipping into 3-D.
|[[File:Merlee's Mansion (2-3) Treasure Chest 2.png|250px]]
|-
|Super Card
|[[File:CatchCardSilverSPM.png]]
|align=left|[[Mimi]] '''(Map 15)''', use Fleep on the poster with an image of Mimi in her own office. Available after Chapter 8.
|[[File:Merlee's Mansion (2-3) (Mimi Super Card).png|250px]]
|}

===Menu description===
*''"What's going on in this mansion? Are these captives?"'' (before ending the chapter segment)
*''"Mimi ran a sweatshop in the back of the mansion. Looking back, the hard labor wasn't all that bad. Maybe that's because this is where you met Slim."'' (after ending the segment)

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jpn=サンデールの館
|JpnR=Sandēru no Yakata
|JpnM=Merlee's Mansion
|SpaE=Mansión de Merlí<ref name=mansionmerli>[https://youtu.be/VzxjHnql68s?t=16 "Super Paper Mario - Valle Del Crepúsculo - Fase: 2-2"].</ref>
|SpaEM=Merlee's Mansion
|Ger=Merlees Villa
|GerM=Merlee's Mansion
|Fre=Manoir de Merlie
|FreM=Merlee's Mansion
|Ita=La Villa di Merluna
|ItaM=Merlee's Mansion
|Kor=선데르의 저택
|KorR=Seondereu-ui Jeotaek
|KorM=Merlee's Mansion
}}

;Tricks, Treats, Traps
{{foreign names
|Jpn=きみょうでおかしな館
|JpnR=Kimyō de Okashi na Yakata
|JpnM=The Strange and Peculiar Mansion
|Ita=Trucchi, trappole e tradimenti
|ItaM=Tricks, traps and treasons
|Fre=Merlie-mélo
|FreM=A pun with the expression "Méli-mélo" (mishmash) and "Merlie" (Merlee)
|SpaE=Trucos, tratos y trampas<ref name=mansionmerli>[https://youtu.be/VzxjHnql68s?t=16 "Super Paper Mario - Valle Del Crepúsculo - Fase: 2-2"].</ref>
|SpaEM=Tricks, treats and traps
|Ger=Kniffe, Fallen und Vergnügen
|GerM=Tricks, traps and fun
|Kor=기묘하고도 이상한 저택
|KorR=Gimyohagodo isanghan jeotaek
|KorM=The Strange and Unusual Mansion
}}

;Breaking the Bank
{{foreign names
|Jpn=マネー！マネー！マネー！
|JpnR=Manē! Manē! Manē!
|JpnM=Money! Money! Money! (can also be interpreted as Mimi's quotes in spider form)
|Ita=Rapina in Banca
|ItaM=Bank Heist
|Fre=Le casse du siècle
|FreM=The heist of the century (an expression that refers to big robberies)
|SpaE=Atraco<ref>[https://youtu.be/fhpSSlcVBCE?t=14 "Super Paper Mario - Valle Del Crepúsculo - Fase: 2-3"].</ref>
|SpaEM=Heist
|Ger=Knack den Tresor
|GerM=Crack the Safe
|Kor=루빙! 루빙! 루빙!
|KorR=Rubing! Rubing! Rubing!
|KorM=Money! Money! Money!
}}

==Notes==
*The music of Merlee's Mansion has several interludes full of altered versions of Mimi's theme, however, the theme of Merlee herself is never heard throughout Chapter 2.
*In the area outside of Merlee's Mansion, an eerie, music box-like arrangement of its theme can be heard. This arrangement is not played by [[The InterNed]] in [[The Underwhere (bar)|the Underwhere bar]].
*The password 5963 can be read as 「ご{{ruby|苦労|くろう}}さま」 in Japanese, which means "You've been working very hard". Similarly, 41262816 can be read as「{{ruby|良|よ}}い{{ruby|風呂|ふろ}}に{{ruby|入|はい}}る」, which means "Take a good bath".
*The code for Mimi's vault in the Korean version was changed to 20000982.<ref>러너사이다 (March 13, 2021). [https://youtu.be/m5nnlQXtgMk?t=830 슈퍼 페이퍼 마리오 2-3 루빙! 루빙! 루빙!]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved January 7, 2025.</ref>

==References==
<references/>

{{SPM}}
[[Category:Homes]]
[[Category:Mansions]]
[[Category:Super Paper Mario levels]]
[[de:Merlees Villa]]