Soli-Tree
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| Soli-Tree | |
|---|---|
| |
| First appearance | Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024) |
| Greater location | Concordia, Stormstar Sea |
| Ruler | Reclusa |
| Inhabitants | Reclusiffs, Weeping Troopers, Seedlusas, Doom Blooms |
The Soli-Tree is the final area of Mario & Luigi: Brothership, also serving as the final boss after Reclusa merges with it, becoming Weeping Reclusa. It is located in the Stormstar Sea, at the exact center of Concordia, where the original Uni-Tree once stood. The tree itself is split into three sections, each with a distinct visual flair: the lower, middle and upper levels. Due to not having a lighthouse, the Soli-Tree cannot be linked to Shipshape Island upon completion. Its name is a play on "solitude" and "Uni-Tree", as well as a play on "solitary".
The Soli-Tree is one of the few instances in a role-playing game in the Super Mario franchise in which the final dungeon does not take place in a castle, the others being the Weapon World in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Cursa's stronghold in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.
History
After Zokket's defeat, he gives the last of his energy to the egg, freeing Cozette but also reawakening Reclusa. Reclusa creates the Soli-Tree by spawning a swarm of Doom Blooms and having them intertwine around Fortress Zokket, then summons a gleaming red barrier to prevent Mario and Luigi from getting in. In order to counteract the barrier, the brothers use Connie's Bonding Can to obtain energy from seven significant Bonds from various characters they have met throughout their adventure. After they collect the sixth bond, Reclusa appears via hologram and bounces off a few names for his lair such as the Darkwood and the Enmitree, before settling on the Soli-Tree. After collecting all seven of them, Connie douses Mario and Luigi with the power of the Bonds so they can break into the Soli-Tree. They launch into it via Shipshape Island's cannon, and the brothers use a Bro Bomb to smash open the front entrance. Connie joins the Mario Bros. as they explore the Soli-Tree, wanting to rescue her mentor Cozette, who had ventured in alone to confront Reclusa to make up for her mistakes. Inside, they find flowers that release spores that separate the brothers if they come into contact with one of them, forcing the other to find and awaken the unconscious brother before proceeding. They arrive in a chamber with an elevator and eight rooms linked to it, including the one they came from. The elevator is blocked off until they travel through the rooms and retrieve eight lanterns, lighting them with fireballs and iceballs.
Once all eight lanterns are set and lit, Mario, Luigi, and Connie ride the elevator to the tree's middle level, where they find an injured Cozette lying on the ground, having failed to stop Reclusa on her own. Connie stays behind to tend to her mentor's wounds while Mario and Luigi continue onward. However, the brothers get caught by Reclusa's mind-altering flowers. This traps them in an illusory copy of the Mushroom Kingdom, where Princess Peach and the Toads are celebrating their supposed victory and return home, and Bowser and his minions have made peace with them. The brothers are surprised to discover that Snoutlet is still with them, and they eventually realize that Reclusa has them trapped in a fantasy world. They chase Reclusa around the illusion, using Lakitu's camera to track him until he hides in a fake ? Block, then hit the block to flush him out. After doing this six times, then Bro Bombing him when he pretends to be a rock, Reclusa becomes frustrated and flees into Peach's Castle. The brothers pursue him inside, finding themselves in a dark hallway with a light at the end. The fake Peach materializes in front of them and tries to convince them to go back. After they say "no" three times, she disappears, and they continue toward the light, leaving the illusion behind. They wake up and pull the flowers off, freeing themselves.
Reclusa throws a tantrum, and the brothers head for the upper level of the tree, where he sends a large horde of minions after them. Mario and Luigi attempt to fight them off, but they soon realize they are outnumbered. However, Bowser arrives in an airship and blasts the minions with cannonballs. When Snoutlet comments on the timely rescue, Bowser is quick to clarify that he did not intervene on their behalf and just wanted to get back at Zokket, despite Kamek's attempts to explain to him that "Zokket" was just a brainwashed puppet and that Reclusa is their real enemy. As the Mario Bros. press on, Reclusa confronts them once again and reveals that the Soli-Tree is almost ready for him to fuse with before running off. Snoutlet then creates a giant plug and Mario and Luigi ride it ride on it as they chase down Reclusa, dodging his Doom Blooms and countering their fire and iceballs with the brothers' own. When they catch up to him, they use a Bro Bomb to stun Reclusa so they can attack him. After supposedly defeating him, it turns out to have been a trick to stall for time and Reclusa fuses with the Soli-Tree, becoming Weeping Reclusa. He immediately swats away Bowser and his remaining forces and releases a Glohm fog which incapacitates the Mario Bros. and Snoutlet.
Connie arrives and uses her Bonding Can to awaken and revitalize the brothers, allowing them to fight once again. The Doom Blooms swallow Snoutlet, forcing Mario and Luigi to fight them while dodging and countering Weeping Reclusa's attacks. Once they free Snoutlet and stun Weeping Reclusa, they hop onto another plug and fly up into Weeping Reclusa's mouth. Reclusa shields himself with the Weeping Core, and, when it is destroyed, fights the brothers head-on. After seemingly falling in battle, Reclusa feigns regret for his actions before angrily destroying the battlefield, sending all three of them plummeting in a last ditch attempt to eliminate Mario and Luigi. As they fall, the brothers charge up their Bonds and repeatedly smash Reclusa with their hammers to finish him off. In his final words, Reclusa bemoans his failure, and without him, the Soli-Tree crumbles apart and sinks into the ocean, allowing Shipshape Island to enter the center of Concordia and become the new Uni-Tree.
Layout
The Soli-Tree has three levels: the lower level, middle level, and upper level. The lower level starts with a narrow, winding path patrolled by Reclusa's minions and Glohmed enemies. It also features flowers that release spores, which forcibly separate the brothers if one comes in contact with them. If this happens, the affected brother will be rendered unconscious and warped to a designated spot in the room until the other brother finds him. This path leads to the lower level's main area, a large chamber with an elevator in the middle surrounded by eight outlets. The elevator is only accessible after lanterns are plugged into all eight outlets and lit using fire or ice balls, depending on the color. While the first lantern is located right inside the chamber, the brothers must traverse the seven other rooms linked to the chamber to find the other lanterns and carry them back to the central chambers. The paths to the connected rooms are blocked by gates, which are also opened by placing and lighting the lanterns. Regardless of which outlets the lanterns are placed in, the rooms always unlock in the same order. The first lantern unlocks the northern room, the second lantern unlocks the west, east, and southeast rooms, and the fifth lantern unlocks the southwest, northwest, and northeast rooms.
- North: This is another winding, narrow path filled with enemies and spore-releasing flowers. After making it to the end and using a Bro Bomb to destroy one of the flowers, the lantern can be carried back, with a switch-activated staircase acting as a shortcut.
- West: This room has the brothers spinning over spike pits and avoiding moving electrical orbs. At the end, pressing a switch causes the platform holding the lantern to slowly move to the right, and the brothers must make it to the other side and get the lantern before the platform moves back.
- East: The brothers must step on twenty-five numbered panels in the correct order to open the gate that blocks access to the lantern.
- Southeast: Upon entering this room, Mario and Luigi are immediately gated in. It is filled with enemies and spore-releasing flowers. The brothers must carry a plug around and place it in outlets to open closed off parts of the room to access the lantern and leave the room.
- Southwest: This room has more enemies and spore-releasing flowers, as well as flower gates that need to be destroyed with Bro Bombs.
- Northwest: This is a large area with many seesaws. The brothers must hit five purple ! Blocks to obtain the lantern, with Mario bouncing Luigi up with the seesaws to access otherwise unreachable spots. There is a secret room on the far left with eight Grampy Turnips, including a golden one. A ninth Grampy Turnip is found at the top of the area and gives a hint on how to hit the nearby ! Block. A second secret room at the top features many coins and items.
- Northeast: After hitting a switch, Mario and Luigi must race the lantern to its destination using Bro Ball and Ball Blitz, picking it up before the platform with the lantern on it returns to its starting point.
The middle level consists only of a short, one-way path that leads to the elevator to the upper level with no enemies or puzzles. However, on their way through it, Mario and Luigi get captured by Reclusa's flowers and trapped in a fantasy of a peaceful Mushroom Kingdom. The fake Mushroom Kingdom consists of a short forested path followed by a bridge that leads to a wide open grassy area with a fountain in the center and Peach's Castle in the far back. There are six different versions of the fantasy. The first one simply has Peach, Starlow, and the Toads congratulating Mario and Luigi on their safe return and inviting him into the castle. Entering it simply respawns them back in front of the bridge and commences the second version, where Mario and Luigi are challenged to celebratory minigames where they must climb platforms and hit an orange ! Block. On the way, there are suspicious, jittering, backwards ? Blocks that roll around and burst into red particles when hit, with the second one revealing Reclusa. If the brothers complete the minigame without hitting the suspicious blocks, the Toads will tell them to play again and get all blocks and coins along the way, and the fake ? Blocks will glow, further hinting to the player that they need to hit them to progress.
After hitting both fake ? Blocks and clearing both challenges, Mario and Luigi are invited into the castle again, commencing the third version of the fantasy. Bowser and his minions have made peace with the Mushroom Kingdom, and they are all celebrating with a feast. A Lakitu tracks the Mario and Luigi's movements with a camera, and there are invisible objects such as coin vents, wooden boxes, and platforms that can only be seen on the camera (though the shadows of the platforms are still normally visible). The camera also makes Reclusa visible, and the brothers can use it to track his position until he hides in another fake ? Block. Each time they find Reclusa, he changes the layout of the invisible platforms. After being found three more times, he leads them into Peach's Castle and changes the fantasy again. This version is similar to the previous one, but omits Bowser. After finding Reclusa two more times, he loses his temper and flees into the castle again. At this point, all of the fake characters have vanished, and Mario and Luigi can head into the castle to return to the real world. Upon entering, the brothers find themselves in a hallway that consists of a large, linear void with a carpet leading into a bright light at the end that will release the brothers out of the fantasy. Halfway through the hallway, the fake Peach appears and attempts to convince both Mario and Luigi to stay with them at the castle; answering "no" will allow them to avoid her and go back to the real world. However, answering "yes" to the fake Peach only features her escorting the brothers back to the plaza with her and two Toads standing in front of the fountain.
The upper level is just a straight path forward, where Reclusa attempts to swarm Mario and Luigi with an army of minions. After Bowser takes them out, they can proceed onward to face Reclusa himself. Before the fight, there is a Save Block, a Heart Block, and a Warp Pipe that leads back to the entrance.
Enemies
- Glohm Hammer Bro
- Weeping Trooper
- Reclusiff
- Seedlusa
- Glohm Palooka R
- Glohm Foopfly R
- Doom Bloom (fought only during the final battle)
- Glohm Magikoopa (fought only during the final battle)
- Weeping Reclusa (final boss)
- Weeping Core (final boss)
- Reclusa (final boss)
Profile
- In-game description: Reclusa's locus of loneliness that stands at the center of the world.
Gallery
Map icon
Awakened map icon
The Soli-Tree protected by a barrier
The Soli-Tree on the title screen
Discovering the Soli-Tree
The Soli-Tree after Mario and Luigi destroy its barrier
Mario and Luigi being held in an illusion by Reclusa's flowers
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | シャダーンツリー[?] Shadān Tsurī |
Pun on「遮断」(shadan, "isolation") + "tree" | |
| Chinese | 遮蔽树[?] Zhēbì Shù |
Shelter Tree | |
| Italian | Ysolalbero[?] | Portmanteau of Ysoll ("Reclusa"), isolante ("non-conductor"), isola ("island") and albero ("tree") | |
| Portuguese | Solitárvore[?] | Portmanteau of solitário ("lonely") and árvore ("tree") | |
| Spanish | Aislárbol[?] | Portmanteau of aislar (both "to insulate" and "to isolate") and árbol ("tree") |
