The 'Shroom:Issue 215/Palette Swap
Director's Notes
It's the lovey-dovey 'Shroom for Valentines! Happy February!
How is everyone's year going? I've settled into a major Pokemon phase right now, going back to finish Pokemon Legends: Arceus. I'm trying to decide if I want to go back to Shining Pearl and finish that or not. We'll have to see. But enjoying Pokemon media this year has been a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see what news we'll get on Legends ZA when we get new news. Other than that, it's just getting ready for Xenoblade X in March. After that comes, it'll be the Switch 2 direct, and hopefully by that direct, it'll be warmer where I live. Getting tired of all the snow and ice of this year!
We've got a lot of good stuff packed into this issue for you all! Our new writers are settling in nicely, and we've got a couple surprises in store for you, so I won't keep you any longer!
Happy reading! ~FunkyK38
Section of the Month
The first round of 2025 brings some shake-up to our rankings! In first, after the start of his new section, is Aomaf (talk) and Story Without Text! Congratulations! Next up is winstein (talk)'s The ? Panel in second place! Coming in third is Shoey (talk)'s Random Image of the Month to round us out this month! A big thank you to everyone who voted, and please keep it up for the rest of the year!
| PALETTE SWAP SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | Story Without Text | 16 | 32.65% | Aomaf (talk) |
| 2nd | The ? Panel | 13 | 26.53% | winstein (talk) |
| 2nd | Random Image of the Month | 9 | 18.37% | Shoey (talk) |
Waluigi Time Comic
Drawn by: Waluigi Time (talk)
"Parachute" - Waluigi Time Comic
Panel 1
[Waluigi Time is standing next to a Poplin holding out a Parachute Cap badge with one hand and carrying several more in the other.]
POPLIN: Here's your badge! Good luck with the challenge!
Panel 2
[Waluigi Time grabs all of the Poplin's badges with a maniacal expression. The Poplin is angry at him.]
WALUIGI TIME: Gimme all of those!
POPLIN: Hey, that's not how it works!
Panel 3
[Waluigi Time is riding a hot air balloon that looks like his top hat from using so many Parachute Cap badges. He raises his arms triumphantly.]
WALUIGI TIME: TOO BAD! WALUIGI TIME!
Panel 4
[Waluigi Time rides past a Talking Flower floating on a parachute.]
TALKING FLOWER: I think you missed the point of the challenge
WALUIGI TIME: I don't remember asking for opinions
The ? Panel
{A group of Goombas are currently in a dim and confined area}
Panel 2:
Goomba 1: "I can't wait for my turn to come!"
Goomba 2: "I CAN wait, on the other hand (if we have hands)"
Panel 3:
Goomba 1: "Aw, come on! You know the day would come!"
Goomba 2: "You know it'll be pain and suffering, you know it."
Panel 4:
Goomba 1: "Yeah, but the public admiration will be worth it!"
Goomba 2: "What are you, some kind of masochist?"
Panel 5:
{Light penetrates into the area from the top}
SFX: CRRREAK
Goomba 3: "Here it comes now!"
{Goomba 2 turns to look up in surprise}
Panel 6:
{A golfer is holding a box and picking Goomba 2, where it's revealed that they are Mini Goombas}
Goomba 2: {Struggling by swinging feet} "Hey! Why me? Why can't it be someone else who wants to volunteer???"
Goomba 1: {From inside the box} "Good luck! I sure you'll do great!"
Panel 7:
{The golfer puts Goomba 2 on a golf peg}
Goomba 2: {Annoyed} "That's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess."
Panel 8:
{The golfer prepares to swing the golf club}
Goomba 2: {Closes eyes and sweats} "Let's get this over with."
Panel 9:
{The Goomba just got hit by a club and got struck towards the distance}
SFX: THWOCK!
Panel 10:
{The Goomba falls on the fringe and then bounce forward}
SFX: THUD!
Panel 11:
{The Goomba hits the flagstick on the head, causing it to wobble}
Goomba: Ow!
{After this, the Goomba falls into the hole}
Goomba: That wasn't a safe landing!
Panel 12:
{Further away, the golfer takes a good look at the tee area. The Goomba peeks their head from the hole}
Goomba: I long for the day that they stop using us for their silly sport.
Panel 13:
{The scene have more saturated colours to indicate that it takes place in the present}
Header: "In the Present"
Goomba: {Telling a Mii} "I don't know if this is true, but I heard that a Goomba was used as the first golf ball. I'm kinda proud of it, honestly."
Para-Goom: {Retorting the Goomba} "Big deal! To this day, we're still used as golf balls!"
{Background consists of Waluigi kicking a Para-Goom towards the hole}
Mixdown Breakdown
Hello and welcome back to Mixdown Breakdown! Zange here, and today I bring you a song most befitting for Valentine's Day, even though this is releasing the day after. Funny enough, this song was also released the day after Valentine's so I guess it all works out! My Love Live fans reading this should find this familiar because today we are breaking down Mogyutto "love" de Sekkin Chuu! by u's.
As always, every song analysis will be broken down into two parts: the instrumental and the mixing. To start off, we will be analyzing the instrumental. Breaking this song down into the most fundamental parts, this is a VERY synth-heavy song. There is also a bit of piano or electronic keyboard hidden throughout, but you really have to be listening for it to catch it. As in: I didn't even realize there was keyboard in this until listening to this song specifically for this breakdown, and I played School Idol Festival RELIGIOUSLY as a middle schooler... Otherwise I genuinely don't think there is a single other instrument heard throughout this, aside from some percussion and MAYBE some bass, that isn't just some variant of synth. Using TuneBat, we know that the BPM is 139, and the song starts in the key of D major, but changes in the choruses to E flat major.
I'd like to touch upon the key changes in this song for a bit. There are a total of three found within the song, with two of them going from D major to E flat major, and only one of them going from E flat major back to D major. These are very logical changes in key when you consider how scales work in relation to keys. Before I talk more about this I'll give a general disclaimer that I know very little in the way of actual music theory but I sure as heck know my way around a piano keyboard. Anyways, the first note in the key is the first note of that scale. For this case, we'll use solfege (aka do re mi etc.) to explain. The major scale is do re mi la so fa ti do, and in the simplest case, do would be C. However, if the song starts in D major, do would be D. When the key goes to E flat, do is now E flat. If you are to look at a keyboard that has all the keys labeled with what note they are, you can see that D and E flat are right next to each other. In music terms, this is what we would call a half step. All this to say: this song has some very smooth transitions between keys. And we like that in music because it makes lives easier for everyone!!
Going back to the instruments in the song for just a second, some people might think that the abundance of synth found here is a bit overkill. For some songs, this is true. This is not one of those songs, though. I think the synth works perfectly here to create this really magical feeling. We get this really poppy, cute, and high energy feeling from this song because of how much synth is here. It's a nice intersection between idol songs and electronic music.
Moving on to the mixing portion of the analysis, there actually isn't a super ton of effects used here. The most prominent ones are the creation of the backing vocals found in the very beginning of the song as well as the choruses. The best way I can describe them is that they are like 'echoes' except they're different words than what is right before them. This backing vocal effect can be achieved in a number of ways, but my go-to is a de-esser plus a subtle chorus effect, then duplicating the vocals and panning one copy to each side This effect is ESPECIALLY prominent in the final chorus when the backing chants of "I love you, I miss you, etc." start up. I've attempted my recreation of that section here, but it is far from perfect.
The other notable effects used in the song are in the second half of the bridge, where we can hear a sort of stuttering or 'glitching' effect with different bits and bobs of vocals repeating. These glitches are basically a copy+paste from various parts earlier in the bridge, with some of the bits being panned to different sides or having the pitch shifted. I've had my fair share of trying to recreate these types of stutter / glitch effects in other songs; it is tedious at best and a nightmare at worst. There are probably plugins out there that would make this sort of thing at least 20 times easier but if they do exist I have none of them!
As for changes I would make to the mixing, there's really only one. In the chorus, there is a line that is backing vocal, going immediately into a regular vocal, and then back to backing. Specifically, in the first chorus the line is "(Tsukamaete) gyutto (motto)", with the parenthesis being the backing vocals. What I would instead do is forget the backing vocal effect entirely for the first and third sections of the line. I would have the first section of the line be panned to the left side and the final section be panned to the right. The middle section can stay in the center, and it would be like that for all the choruses. I'll be real, I only want to make this change because that is LITERALLY HOW I THOUGHT IT WAS MIXED ORIGINALLY and spent a solid half hour trying to figure out if that was the case or not. I had to listen to one of the solo mixes twice to realize that they were just backing vocals. My poor ears were not having a good time that day…
That's about all I have for this month. I hope you understand the inner workings of this song a little better, and I'll see you next time!
Shmaluigi, Private Investigator
Written by: Waluigi Time (talk)
Light at the End of the Tunnel: Part 4
When I finally came to, it didn't take long to remember where I was. Even before I opened my eyes, feeling the coarse sand underneath my skin and the harsh sun beating down on me was a dead giveaway. Now I just had to remember why I was here...
AGH... And why I was so sore, for that matter. Everything hurts. Curse this body.
Eventually, I managed to pull myself upright and take a look around at my surroundings. That was enough for everything to come flooding back - and I'd be pretty embarrassed if it wasn't. The wreckage from the train was haphazardly scattered around for quite some distance, and a large stretch of track was entirely out of commission. At least, from what I could see from here. Judging by how far away it was now, I must have been flung quite a distance by the explosion. Needless to say, it's a good thing this line wasn't supposed to be in use anymore, because, ah, that could be a problem...
But after all that, I had to inspect the disaster area to see what became of my arch-nemesis. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I had my reasons to suspect it was more than just a few hours. He was still here though, surely - or whatever was left of him, anyway. Scouring the wreckage was going to be a difficult task, though. Whatever Brando was hauling to Dark Land was enough to create an explosion that sent debris flying over a significant area. To make matters worse, I lost my hat.
It was a bit like wandering through a junkyard. A very sandy junkyard. Charred chunks of what used to be the train made up most of the debris, and then there were shards of the old crates and bits of the shipment mangled beyond recognition. Much of it had already been partially buried in the sand. Still no sign of Brando though, and I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to find him or not. In my line of work you get used to the idea of encountering departed souls in... suboptimal condition, but I never found that it was something I ever really got over. It's not exactly what you would call a pleasant experience. On the other hand, the closure would be nice, you know? If he had somehow escaped again, I'd probably tear my hair out. I didn't think that was possible, though. No one could've survived that.
Okay, let me just address the elephant in the room. Yes, I did survive that, technically. Don't worry about it too much.
I may not have found the big boss, but as I was combing through the rubble, I found what was left behind of his bodyguard IG-11. That spindly assassin had always looked worse for wear since the day I first laid eyes on him, but the train explosion really took its toll. His metal shell was horribly scorched and all of his appendages had been blown clean off, with neither of his fancypants laser guns in sight. I wasn't sure if he was even operational anymore, but I didn't want to discount the possibility that there were important clues left in the droid's memory banks and decided to take what's left of him along with me.
After spending so long scouring through the wreck, I had almost decided to throw in the towel and begin the long walk back home when something green caught my eye. I stooped down and brushed away the sand and uncovered a scrap of black fabric with a small decorative Fire Flower still pinned to it - unmistakably the one that Monty Brando always kept pinned to his lapel. It was a bit singed, but largely unscathed compared to everything else. Fitting, I suppose. Perhaps this was all that was left and the rest of him was completely incinerated in the blast. I'd be lying if I said I felt sorry for him. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to crush it in my fist and grind it into nothingness or keep it as a trophy of sorts, but for now, I'd be taking that with me too.
Now to trudge back home through the desert. Ugh... At least the remains of the engine provided me with some sense of direction.
You know what really gets to you when you're walking through the desert with no end in sight? Dehydration. When was the last time I drank anything?
It's really easy to lose track of time out here, too. Had it been fifteen minutes since I started walking, or five hours? Felt more like five days.
By the time my brain was cooked enough that I was starting to contemplate the hotness of the heat and the dryness of the ground, the air was filled with the sound of a dune buggy appearing over the horizon and tearing in my direction. I was just about to jump out of the way, when it came to an abrupt stop in front of me and I saw just who was behind the driver's seat.
"Well, fancy meetin' you here. You disappeared for a while and you weren't answerin' your phone, so I figured I had to come save your neck again!" Shmwario said, then looked me up and down. "And it looks like I was half-right. You look terrible!"
I'd have to take his word for it, I hadn't been privy to a mirror for a while. "Well, I would've made it back... Eventually... But I appreciate the lift. It's miserable out here."
"Then hurry up and get in the buggy, I'm rentin' this thing by the hour! Oh, and you might wanna put up your collar when we get back to civilization. I don't think you'd wanna be seen in public like that, if you get my drift."
Didn't have to tell me twice. I dumped IG-11 in the back and hopped into the passenger's seat. I noticed that Shmwario brought beverages along - only soda, of course - and grabbed one. Hm, definitely not cold anymore...
"Oh, sorry. The Squirt went warm."
"How long has it been, anyway?" I asked.
"Like, a week, bro. I figured you were just takin' care of business on the other end for the first couple of days. What went down, anyway?"
I couldn't help but notice that Shmwario had his attention entirely fixed on me at this point. "I'll tell you if you actually keep your eyes straight ahead while you're driving."
"C'mon, we're in the middle of the desert, what's the worst that can happen? I run into a Pokey or something?"
"Eyes straight ahead."
"Fiiiine... Man, you sound just like Shmaisy right now."
With the threat of barreling straight into a cactus mostly neutralized, I started catching Shmwario up on everything, going back to Spiky Don's reveal and up to all the action on the train. As best as I could remember it, anyway.
The dune buggy ride thankfully made for a much quicker and more comfortable return trip than I was preparing to deal with. I tried to stay as inconspicuous as I could in a burnt up trenchcoat as we made it back to the city, and Shmwario dropped me off in front of my place. After everything that went down, I went back inside to recollect myself for a while.
Only now that nothing was distracting me anymore did the reality of everything sink in. Monty Brando was dead, by all appearances. The white whale that I'd been chasing for more than six long years gone, just like that. The question now became, what next? It wasn't the end of his organization by any means - whether anyone would discover his fate, and when, was still up in the air, but his absence would be strongly felt. Inevitably, it would fracture as his various underlings attempt to use his disappearance to make power grabs of their own. Other groups could very well try to move in or start up their own operation. Pure chaos in the criminal underworld of New Wikisburg.
But for now, I had some time to reflect on what led me here.
I hung up what was left of my trenchcoat on my coat rack and went to go look at myself in the mirror. Yikes, Shmwario was right. Aside from a nasty sunburn, my trusty disguise wasn't quite doing its job anymore.
I took my glasses off and gave them a good look. The plastic nose attached to them was now disfigured, with barely anything left of that goofy bushy mustache. The eyebrows had met a similar fate. Then I looked back up in the mirror, and saw Waluigi staring back at me.
Perhaps I should start from the beginning.
My name, as you may have caught on by now, is not actually Shmaluigi. And no, it's not Waluigi either. As a matter of fact... I'm not even human.
The name's Connor, Connor the Duplighost. At least, it was once upon a time. May as well have been a previous life with how I was living these days. It had only been six years, yet it felt like an eternity ago. You see, I wasn't always in the detective business. The thought never even crossed my mind. Before then, after all, I had no need to be. I was just living life, and I was happy. How could I not have been? I was engaged to the most wonderful Shadow in all the dimensions.
Jasmine...
I'm not ashamed to admit I was head over heels for her. If you told me there was anyone more beautiful inside or out anywhere in the world, I'd have called you a liar. Pretty darn good with water magic too. She's the reason purple's my favorite color, I still can't help but look at it and be reminded of her.
I thought everything was just perfect and it would stay that way forever. What a naive fool I was. Nothing is ever that simple. Those two days, they still haunt me. For the first few months, I couldn't stop myself from replaying them in my head, over and over and over. To this day, they still show up in my worst nightmares.
She beat me home from work, like she always did. Being able to slink through shadows shortens your commute by a lot. We caught up on each other's days as usual, and I had nothing to report - the world of inventory management was not fast-paced or exciting by any stretch of the imagination.
"I mostly just had a normal day too," she said. "Oh, something weird happened though. I went to take some reports in to my boss and there was a Monty Mole in his office that I've never seen before. He was wearing a suit so I guess he was someone important."
"Probably just a higher-up or something," I replied.
"Maybe. They seemed upset when I came in, though. I guess I could have knocked? But he was expecting me to bring those reports today..."
"I wouldn't worry about it, it's not like they're going to fire you over that."
"Oh, they better not! But yeah, I don't think so either. Just odd, that's all. Anyway, what should we do for dinner? Do you want to make something here or order in?"
It seemed so casual at the time. The rest of the night was nothing out of the ordinary, and the next morning, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. That was the last time I ever saw her. I tried to call her over my lunch break but wasn't able to get a hold of her. No big deal, I thought to myself, she must have just been busy at the time. That was probably the last time I didn't immediately start fretting about the worst case scenario.
I knew something was up when I got home after work and there was no sign of anyone there. That didn't make sense, I couldn't even recall a single time I made it home first. I tried to call her several times that night and got nowhere, and as you can probably I guess, I was increasingly freaking out. I filed a missing person report as soon as possible, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. She saw something she wasn't supposed to and "disappeared" - this Monty Mole character was clearly bad news. With the knowledge I have now, it's pretty obvious that Jasmine inadvertently found herself working for what was or would become one of Brando's shell companies. They shut down not too long after that - nothing to do with the investigation or any mafia activity at all, as far as I knew it was some off-color tax problems. Weird how those things work out sometimes.
I tried to help with all the information I could, but the case went nowhere. I knew that if I wanted to get anything done, I'd have to get in there and do it myself.
You know the saying "ghosts don't die"? Well, that's only partially true. You can kill a ghost - Duplighosts like me included - but you really have to know what you're doing. A Duplighost disguised as a mortal being can be "killed", but in reality, it's a farce. It's really just a dormant state while the necessary regeneration takes place, kind of like an extended period of sleep. I was, unfortunately, rather familiar with that state. The ill-fated investigation of Fred Pasture was the first time it happened to me. I figured people would be more than a bit suspicious of my sudden return after that, so Shmwario and I made up a phony story about him delivering a 1-Up Mushroom. Frankly, I've always been skeptical of the effectiveness of those 1-Ups. I figure their healing power is more applicable on someone who's gravely injured or in a comatose state, but raising the dead? That always seemed farfetched. Plus, getting brought back to life by a fungus sounds kind of freaky. Didn't matter though, everyone seemed to buy the story hook, line, and sinker. Then there was that whole zombie incident after my even more ill-fated cruise trip. The only explanation I could think of for that was that the toxin injection interfered with the natural healing process, somehow. And now, getting caught in a massive explosion.
Ah, but back to the point. Anyone who could make a Shadow "disappear" could do the same to a Duplighost, I reasoned, so I had to make sure to throw them off the trail if I ever attracted too much attention. The plan was simple - use my own natural abilities and cover it up with the flimsiest disguise possible. The silly Groucho glasses and fedora along with a slightly changed name would have been barely a disguise at all, and anyone who saw through them would see someone entirely different behind the mask. Who would suspect that the person going to the effort of crafting an incredibly lame disguise for themselves was actually a Duplighost in plain sight? All I needed was someone who was recognizable, but not so active that their presence here wouldn't be believable. Waluigi was perfect for my purposes - you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in this kingdom who hadn't heard of him by now, but he also never really does much of anything besides the occasional sporting tournament. My brother was all that I had left now that my fiancée had vanished into the ether, and he was all too happy to play the Wario to my Waluigi. The role fit him like a glove, and as I understood it, he'd ticked off a few too many people and was happy to have a clean slate to get out of certain obligations. I try not to pry into his personal dealings too much, I have enough problems of my own.
With all the pieces in place, Shmaluigi was born, and Connor the Duplighost quietly fell off the face of the earth. With the help of a How To Be A Detective For Dummies book I found on a clearance rack, a few old noir movies and TV shows, and some cleverly forged documents to make myself look more experienced than I really was (in this case, having any experience whatsoever), I got into the New Wikisburg Police Department to bring this cretin to justice.
At least, that's how I thought things would go. With the resources of the NWPD at my disposal, I was able to confidently narrow down who this mystery mole was to Monty Brando. He was well-known among them already, the ever-slippery mob boss who was meticulously careful to make sure nothing could actually be pinned on him. If you're thinking that an inexperienced rookie wouldn't be able to change that, you win the prize. I was already out of my element, a fish out of water who ended up spending most of my time issuing traffic citations and chasing down petty thefts. No answers, and no justice.
A few years went by, and I was miserable. I wasn't any closer to accomplishing my goal than I was the day I joined the NWPD, and at the rate I was going, it didn't seem like I would be anytime soon. Instead I was handing out fines for driving ten miles too fast. It all felt so empty and pointless. Then I got my break. I overheard murmurings of some activity in Rogueport, a new mafia trying to muscle their way into the crusty port town. I rushed off on a whim to try and do what I never could before - bust a mafia. And I actually did! With a lot of help, of course. I certainly never would've made it through that whole ordeal alone, but with a newfound confidence and the wisdom of Detective Fulbright under my belt, I felt ready to set off on my own and finally do what I couldn't before.
It took a while, but here I was. The man who ruined my life, and no doubt countless others, was gone, obliterated in a magnificent train explosion. I would've preferred to finally take him down through the legal system and watch him rot in prison the rest of his life, but it was some closure nonetheless. At least he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again.
I stared at what was left of my trusty Groucho glasses again. Shmaluigi's original mission was finished. I didn't need him anymore.
...But did I know how to be anything else now?
It had been so long since I was just... me. And I couldn't go back to being just me. At best, I could be half of me, because the other half was torn away, and there was nothing I could've done about it.
Plus, "Connor, private investigator" just doesn't have the same ring to it. At least I could probably drop the incessant talking in third person. I did that to try and sell the Waluigi connection, but man, I even got on my own nerves with that sometimes.
I suppose there was still the matter of wardrobe. I couldn't really go out in public looking like whatever you call this mess. Hmm... I'd certainly seen myself enough, I wonder... There we go, one fresh Shmaluigi! No need for buying new clothes or anything like that, just pure Duplighost right here. It had been so long since the last time I transformed, but it's like riding a bike, you never forget. It was kind of a weird feeling, though. I mean... I was technically impersonating myself now.
I still wanted to find out what happened to her, even if it was a longshot. The only person who for sure knew all the details was gone now, and it was so long ago that it was dicey if anyone else who was in on it was still around. I could already rule out IG-11's memory banks being any help, I knew from past experience with the droid that everything but the most essential data was routinely wiped to minimize fallout if he was ever captured. But staring at what was left of the mechanical menace did give me another idea...
Monty Brando was dead, but presumably no one but me and Shmwario knew it yet. And here I had his bodyguard and the ability to disguise myself as anyone I want. All I had to do was get this bucket of bolts operational again. That wasn't in my wheelhouse, I'm afraid - this involved more than a screwdriver - but I was pretty sure Shmwario had some connections that could help, so I hauled it over to his place.
"And... what do you wanna do with this?" Shmwario asked as I propped IG-11's torso up against the couch.
"I want to get him repaired so I can disguise myself as Monty Brando," I answered. "Maybe then I can finally get some answers. If nothing else, I can try to break up the remnants before they get too far."
"Wait, I've seen Monty Moles. How's that supposed to work? They're like... this, and you're like... this," Shmaisy said, moving her arms around in an attempt to convey size.
"Oh, um... Should we tell her?"
"I don't care, this is kinda your thing," Shmwario replied.
Well, I didn't have any reason not to trust Shmaisy at this point, and I figured I'd probably want her around for whatever might happen next, so I decided to let her in on the whole Duplighost thing... which included explaining what one was. With less risk of things going wrong if something accidentally leaked out now that Brando was out of the picture, I didn't see much harm in being more open with my closest associates.
"So... shapeshifting bedsheets?" she asked in response.
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Huh. Well, okay. But I better not see either of you turning into me without permission or I will make you regret it."
"Anyway... You know someone in robotics, right?"
"Uh, yeah, but it's real hard gettin' a hold of that ape most of the time. He's always runnin' off to go do research in weird places, or whatever. I guess I can try to call him though, I'm pretty sure he owes me a favor. Or... wait, do I owe him a favor? Uhh..."
That didn't seem promising, so I put my own thinking cap on. "Wait a minute, those mystery kids..."
"Who?" Shmwario asked.
"I met them a while back, they were just a bunch of amateur mystery-solving teenagers who also happened to be copycats of me. But they had a really souped up Gearmo with them, maybe they could get this guy functioning again? It seems worth a shot, anyway."
"Alright, so where do we find 'em?" Shmwario asked.
"I... don't know. Last time I saw them, they were just driving around the city in a van. But they must have some internet presence, right? Maybe on the... Clockphoto, or whatever?"
"Oh, hat is not even close," Shmaisy said.
"Mind if I use your phone, bro? I kind of lost mine."
"Yeah, knock yourself out."
A quick search for the "Mystery Dudes" brought up several social media profiles - looks like they were a bit starved for business and trying to scrape up whatever they could get. Thankfully, that made it very easy to find their contact info, so I placed a phone call.
"You've reached the Mystery Dudes-"
"TRUTHSEEKERS!"
"This is Muercello, how can we help?"
"This is Shmaluigi, I was hoping to ask you guys a little favor."
"Shmaluigi, mi amigo! What's up?"
"I've got a robot here in real sorry shape. Thought maybe with that Gearmo of yours you might be able to get it back in working order? I'll pay, of course."
"We can try! Ook's been looking for a new project anyway."
With the deal in place, we hashed out location details and they pulled up outside of Shmwario's place ten minutes later in that old van of theirs. The extent of their branding was a piece of cardboard tied to the rack on the roof with "MYSTERY DUDES" crudely written on it. Between that and the phone call, I figured things hadn't changed much with them in the last couple of years.
A Polterpup bounced out of the van and ran over to me with her tail wagging, closely followed by Muercello, the Tostarenan. It was nice to see them sans derivative Groucho masks this time. "Looks like Spectra's happy to see you again! So, where's our project?"
"Oh, it's inside. Looks like you guys still haven't settled on a name yet?"
"No... We keep trying to vote on it, but everyone picks their own every time so we don't get anywhere. But as self-appointed leader, we get to use mine as the tentative title for now! So, not the worst."
"You could've picked one by now if you let me be the tiebreaker!" said the Gearmo.
"No way buddy, you are not impartial!" the Ninji exclaimed. "Ook does your maintenance and his is like, the worst one. I'd even go with Mystery Dudes before Fact Finders, that doesn't even sound cool."
"Alright, alright, can we just take a look at the thing now?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, me and Gaxy can take a look at it," the Ukiki, who I presumed to be Ook, said. We'd never been properly introduced, actually.
"It's not Gaxy!" complained the Gearmo, noticeably louder than before. "It's G-XY, serial number two-zero-zero-seven-one-one-zero-one, warranty void! How many times do I have to say this?!"
"Alright, don't blow a gasket, yeesh. You didn't have any problem with Shmearmo back in the day," Ook replied.
"That's different. And for the record, I thought that was stupid."
We all went inside, and with introductions out of the way, the two of them got to work examining IG-11's remains.
"Ohh, this guy again!" Ook exclaimed. "You weren't kidding about being in bad shape, huh. Alright, initial assessment... No limbs. Based on the shape of these connectors I'd say they were blown off in an explosion, mhm. Going to take some extra work to fix those up. If I remember right there was a self-destruct mechanism in the chest cavity and now there is not, looks like a temporary removal since there's still loose wires in here... Armor plating looks terrible but seems superficial, mhm, mhm. Okay. Do you have any more of the parts?"
"No, this was all I could find," I replied.
"Well... I should be able to do the physical repairs, but it's not really gonna look good."
"That should be fine, this thing's always looked like a salvaged mess anyway. I can probably get away with it."
"Okie-dokie. Alright G-XY, go ahead with the internal analysis. Make sure you don't give it write permissions, the last thing we need is a murderous version of you."
"Just let me interface in peace! I know what I'm doing!" G-XY replied.
"Famous last words," Shmaisy said, glancing at Shmwario with a knowing smirk.
"Let's see which cables this thing is compatible with... Denied. Denied. Denied. Denied. There we go. Ugh, who designed this operating system? It's terrible. Anyway, looks like you really messed this thing up. Personality matrix is entirely corrupt, memory bank is still heavily encrypted, give me a moment to crack that... Okay, lots of corrupted data in here too, but at least it's not completely fried. I'll salvage what I can, but my verdict is that this droid would now be most effective as a paperweight."
"Oof, personality matrixes are expensive," Ook noted. "If it's okay with you, I could maybe set him up to be manually controlled remotely and wire it through the vocalization module..."
"That would probably be even better, actually. I'm hoping I won't need to use this thing for very long anyway."
"Okay then, I'll get him into the van and see what I can do. Probably going to need a replacement for that self-destruct though, never know when you're going to need that. Um... Halloween, see if you can scrounge up a Kick Bomb for me?"
The Ninji responded with an affirmative nod and scampered off.
It took several days before IG-11 was back up and operational, although I'm not sure if operational was entirely the right word. He was more of a mechanical puppet now than anything else, but that suits me just fine. I assumed it would've been easier that way than trying to reprogram him to not be a murderbot. The day he was finished, Ook showed him off by having him waltz into my office.
"Well? What do you think?"
He didn't look great - what was left of his original parts had still clearly been through the ringer, and none of his limbs matched the original design, or each other for that matter. Although, to be fair, every time I saw him he was a decent amount of the way there already. What was important was that he was operational, and would hopefully help sell my disguise.
"Did you know that I am mechanically inferior to G-XY? I fall short on every possible metric," IG-11 said.
"Bet you can't guess who I have controlling him right now," Ook added.
"Looks like you got everything up and running. Nice work," I said.
"Yep!" he exclaimed, beaming through his thick goggles. "Took a lot of work, some of what was left was really shot. But he's a functional junkbot now. Oh, and I took the liberty of adding a few extra gadgets, you know, just in case."
"Excellent. By the way, did you get anything useful out of the memory banks?"
G-XY took the lead on that question, answering through IG-11 again. It was a little unsettling hearing the droid speak again, to be honest. "Most of it was corrupt, but I was able to pull some location data from approximately two weeks ago."
"Hm, interesting. I wonder if any of those correspond to Monty Brando's home base..."
"Cross-referencing coordinates and what's left of movement patterns with recorded satellite data... The only location that appears suitable as a potential hideout would be Pianta's Eatery, an Isle Delfino restaurant here in the city."
I grit my teeth at the mention of it - I remembered taking Jasmine there a few times for dinner. How sickeningly ironic that we could have very well been paying into Brando's pocket back then. But it was as good a place to start as any.
"Alright then, we go there tonight," I announced.
That night, Shmwario, Shmaisy, and I packed into the Mystery Dudes' van with them, plus one formerly killer robot. We were definitely reaching maximum capacity in here. Anyway, we went straight for Pianta's Eatery after closing time and parked about a block away. Maybe there was something in here, maybe not. I'd seen the data myself, and it lined up pretty well for IG-11's location just before heading with Brando to the trainyard that night. Even if he were just here to, say, blast some unfortunate diners, it would've been far too late for them to even be open.
I took a deep breath before transforming, in a strange twist of fate, into my departed arch-nemesis - only to realize I hadn't quite let everyone in on the details of the mission.
"Wait, you can DO THAT?" Muercello shouted in surprise.
"Oh, yeah. Probably should've mentioned that earlier," I said. I had to do a double take when Brando's voice came out of my mouth - almost made me want to throw up.
I shrugged it off and exited the van with IG-11 closely behind, and walked towards the restaurant. I figured I would check around back first, then realized I had forgot a crucial part of this plan - I may have had Brando's form, but what I did not have was his keys.
"Um... I may have made a small tactical error."
"Hey, Ook here," IG-11 said, "I installed a lockpick on this guy. Shouldn't be too much of a problem."
That certainly came in handy. The droid made quick work of the lock on the back door, and we went inside to find a staff only hallway. I didn't spend too much time taking in the details, although having mole vision certainly helped in this now largely unlit establishment. My attention quickly turned to what looked like an office door, with Monty Brando's name etched on the window. Bingo. And of course, it was locked again.
"Care to open this one too?" I asked.
One more robotic lockpicking later, and I was finally standing in Brando's personal office. I doubted anyone would be coming in here, but even if they did, at least I had the perfect cover. I started rummaging through his desk and found a series of books with totally blank covers on them. I looked inside one, and... I couldn't really understand any of it. My best guess was that these were Brando's notes on his operations. They were extremely vague and to the point, and more importantly, written in code. You wouldn't be able to figure out any of these without context, and they certainly wouldn't hold up as evidence in court. That sneaky mole...
My one lifeline was that these were dated, at least. If I could find the notes for back then, I just might be able to find out exactly what happened to my true love. In the meantime, I handed off the ones that were worthless for my purposes to IG-11. Stealing all of these probably wouldn't be a good idea, but it might not be a bad idea for G-XY to have that data on hand.
Finally, I found the notes going back to 2018. I hoped that, at least with a knowledge of the precise timeline and some context, I would be able to decipher these.
"Meeting with Java successful barring Caster intrusion." Caster must have referred to Jasmine, but it was an odd codename. Caster as in shadow caster, perhaps? Or maybe something to do with elemental abilities? Shadows are well known for that too, after all. "Follow-up tomorrow."
"Umbra assigned to follow-up. Caster secured. Quiz unsatisfactory, but integration by Umbra was successful."
...What? Integration? There's a million euphemisms you could come up with for taking someone out of the picture - hey look, there's one - but integration is definitely not one of them. And that's what Brando chooses to describe whatever happened? This "Umbra" character was obviously whoever Brando sent to do the job, but who were they?
Here I thought I would at least get some answers on what I thought was an open-and-shut case. Instead I had even more questions, and I wasn't even sure if what I thought I knew all this time was even true anymore. This was going to be a wild ride...
To be continued...
Lore dump! I've had most of this in mind going waaay back to 2021 when I started this section, so it feels kind of surreal having it written down and finally out there for the public. I've told a couple people some bits of Shmaluigi's backstory, but this is the first time I've fully revealed it. I hope to see you again next month for where things go next!
Say Yes to the Dress: Waluigi Edition
Written by: ClawgripFan9001 (talk)
Sunshine Boulevard within New Donk City, also called the Metro Kingdom, was the most glamorous part of town, and those who happened to go down there wouldn’t be able to miss the hottest shop on the entire block: Waluigi’s Bridal Boutique. Since 2013, the Mushroom Kingdom’s most notorious swooner, Waluigi had established the business in New Donk City after he realized that he had a gift for bringing people together after meeting a pretty human woman at a club in Delfino Plaza. Waluigi liked the girl, but considered himself to be out of her league. Still, he could tell that the girl was feeling lonely, and felt sympathetic towards her, so he scouted the club from top to bottom before eventually finding a handsome young man that he ended up introducing the girl to. That’s when Waluigi decided to go into the bridal boutique business, so he traveled to New Donk City, set up shop on Sunshine Boulevard, and history was made from there.
Today was business as usual at Waluigi’s Bridal Boutique, as a human woman who looked to be in her early twenties came through the door together with her friends, who were all human women. The soon-to-be bride had a Caucasian skin tone, along with shoulder-length black hair, striking green eyes and a slender build, currently wearing a white V-neck jumper tee underneath a burnt orange leather jacket alongside navy blue jeans and crimson red ankle boots.
Having heard the chime of the bell that rang whenever a customer came in through the front door of the shop, Waluigi proceeded to emerge from the back rooms clad in a dark purple three-piece suit with a dark green tie, dark gray leather boat shoes alongside his trademark inverted L-embroidered gloves, completing the look with a pair of black-rimmed rectangular glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.
“WAAAA-lcome, ladies! Thank you for visiting Waluigi’s Bridal Boutique, and hopefully Waluigi can help you get married! Now, first thing’s first; Who’s the lucky lady?!” Waluigi asked the group of women in front of him after greeting them with his trademark wildly unbridled enthusiastic speech.
The shoulder-length black haired woman proceeded to raise her hand. “I am. My name’s Madison Brigitta Bauer, I’m twenty-five years old, and I come from here in New Donk City.” She introduced herself to Waluigi with a light smile.
“WAAAA-ll then, let me congratulate you on your engagement, Madison! If you don’t mind Waluigi asking, who’s the lucky man who’s going to tie the knot with you?!” Waluigi asked Madison with a confident and charismatic grin.
“His name is Lucas Pierpont Coleman, and we’ve been together since high school. One night, we went out dining at a restaurant over on Fusajiro Junction, and halfway into the dinner, he got down on one knee and proposed to me, and of course, I said yes, and here we are to pick out the dress I’ll hopefully be wearing on the big day.” Madison told Waluigi in detail, being unable to stop smiling as she did so.
“WAAAA-t a beautiful story! Waluigi’s honored to be playing a part in it! Now, second thing’s second; Who are the ladies you brought with you today?” Waluigi asked Madison as he glanced at the girls that the bride had brought with her to the boutique.
“Well, this here is my sister, Jacqueline Deborah Bauer, usually called Jacqui for short. She’s been my main source of emotional support throughout my high school years, so it made sense for me to bring her with me today.” Madison explained as she gestured to her sister Jacqui with a smile.
Jacqui smiled and waved. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Waluigi. I do hope that you’ll be able to help my sister find the perfect dress for her wedding day.” She greeted Waluigi in a kind tone of voice. Like Madison, she was a Caucasian human woman with black hair and green eyes, though her hair was styled in a high ponytail with a dark blue scrunchie to hold it up. She also had freckles adorning her cheeks, and wore a white sweater along with a light brown pair of chino pants and dark blue and white trainers.
“This next girl here is my best friend, Winnie Margot Peletier, whom I’ve known since elementary school and continued to stick by me through middle school and high school, and I simply couldn’t leave her out of this special occasion.” Madison continued as she gestured to her best friend, smiling the whole time.
“I do hope that Madison will be able to find the wedding dress of her dreams at your boutique, Mr. Waluigi. After all, you’re said to be one of the best in the business in all of New Donk City, so surely that should count for something.” Winnie smiled and nodded towards Waluigi. Winnie had a light brown skin tone with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair styled in a short pompadour, and her outfit consisted of a light green t-shirt with matching cargo pants, light green and white slip-on shoes and a pair of white wristbands adorning both of her wrists.
“And finally, I brought along my dear old mama, Wilhelmina Kimberly Bauer-O’Connor, who always did what she could to support my sister and I after my dear old papa was forced to leave town for safety reasons and sadly never came back.” Madison finished explaining whilst gesturing towards her mother.
“Hello, Mr. Waluigi. I share my daughter’s sentiments that you will be able to provide her with the ideal wedding dress for her special day that we’ll still be talking about for years to come.” Mrs. Bauer-O’Connor told Waluigi with a warm, motherly smile.
“WAAAA-ll, you’ve come to the right place, ladies! I’m sure there’ll be something to your liking within my assortment of dazzling bridal dresses and other bridal products! Mrs. Madison, if you would be so kind as to follow me to the dressing room so that me and my assistant will be able to hear out your wishes for a wedding dress in private?” Waluigi suggested to Madison, to which the bride nodded in agreement as she proceeded to follow Waluigi to the dressing room.
“The rest of you ladies can have a seat in the seating room in the meantime, Waluigi’s bartender will serve you something to drink on while you wait!” Waluigi informed Madison’s family and friends, who proceeded to head on over to the seating room at the bridal boutique owner’s instructions.
Soon, Waluigi was alone with Madison in the dressing room along with his assistant, Rosalina, who was wearing a white dress shirt with an aqua blue waistcoat over it along with a golden yellow necktie, black dress pants and aqua blue leather ankle boots. “So, Mrs. Madison, what is exactly that you’re seeking for in a wedding dress? Waluigi has pretty much everything a lady wants in a wedding dress, so the choice is as large as a wedding day is on a woman’s life!” Waluigi inquired from Madison, raising his arms into the air with his fingers stretched out for emphasis on his “large as a wedding day” expression.
Madison let out an inquisitive hum of her own as she thought it over. “Well, I’ve always wanted to have a mermaid-style wedding dress when I was younger, so something like that would be interesting to search for within your collection.” She informed Waluigi.
“Uh-huh, uh-huh. Waluigi will be sure to keep a mental note of that as we search for a dress like that. Anything else we must keep in mind when looking for the ideal wedding dress?” Waluigi asked Madison once more, nodding as he listened to her wishes.
“I’ve also always wanted to wear a mermaid-style bridal veil to go with my mermaid-style wedding dress, so a veil decorated with mermaid-themed accessories such as starfish, clam shells and the like would be fun to see as well.” Madison informed Waluigi once more.
“Alright, in that case, you don’t need to say no more. Waluigi and his assistant will go look for something akin to your wishes, and we’ll get you ready to try it on once we’ve found it.” Waluigi told Madison with a warm and charismatic grin as he and Rosalina proceeded to leave the dressing room in search of a wedding dress and matching veil that was in line with Madison’s preferences.
In the meantime, Madison’s family and friends were being served drinks by Waluigi’s bartender, ClawgripFan9001, who was wearing a white captain’s hat with a golden anchor insignia on his head along with a navy blue bowtie.
“Ahoy, fair lasses. I do ‘ope that ye shall enjoy yer time in Mr. Waluigi’s Bridal Boutique ta yer ‘eart’s content while ‘e searches fer the perfect wedding dress ta ‘elp yer precious bride get married in.” ClawgripFan9001 told Madison’s family and friends with his trademark grin as he poured each of them a mocktail, each with a different flavor and accompanying garnish.
“Hello, Mr. ClawgripFan. So far, I’d say that we’re having a good time here at your boss’ boutique. I really like what he’s done with the place. It really has an air of the inside of a Gucci store mixed with the class of the interior of a Waldorf Astoria hotel.” Jacqui told the Sidestepper with a smile as she proceeded to take a sip of her mocktail, which had a tonic soda taste with a lime garnish applied to it.
“Yar, I be sure Mr. Waluigi would be ‘appy ta ‘ear such compliments, ‘cause that be exactly what ‘e were goin’ fer when ‘e were designin’ the interior o’ the boutique back when ‘e were first settin’ up shop in ‘13.” ClawgripFan9001 acknowledged Jacqui’s compliments with a friendly nod.
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind when leaving a review on this place once we’re done here.” Jacqui smiled back as she took another sip of her mocktail whilst casually crossing her left leg over her right one before relaxing into a comfortable silence.
Back in the dressing room, Waluigi and Rosalina were helping Madison put on a mermaid-themed wedding dress with a matching veil for her to show to her friends and family.
“Madison, darling, Waluigi isn’t one to be complimentary before the bride has finished putting on a dress to try out, but hear Waluigi out on this; You look absolutely gorgeous right now!” Waluigi brimmed with pride as he and Rosalina continued helping Madison into her dress.
Madison smiled brightly as she received these compliments from the purple-clad boutique owner. “Thanks, Mr. Waluigi. I feel quite confident in this dress I’m gonna be trying on myself. I really hope that my family shares that sentiment once I end up showing this dress to them.” She replied to Waluigi, eager to show her family the dress she was currently trying on.
“Take it from me, miss; I’m certain that this dress is going to bring out your natural beauty that’s guaranteed to be winning the hearts of your family, and if you end up purchasing this dress for your wedding day, it’s guaranteed to be winning the heart of your soon-to-be significant other on the big day itself as well.” Rosalina gave her ten cents on the matter, lightly smiling to showcase her confidence and courage.
Madison smiled even brighter at the praise she was receiving from Rosalina. “Thank you, miss. Hearing you say that means a lot to me.” She responded to Rosalina in a grateful tone of voice, being even more eager to show her family the dress once she had finished putting it on.
Back in the waiting room, ClawgripFan9001 continued to entertain Madison’s friends and family so as to keep them busy while also keeping them from wandering around the boutique and causing a ruckus in the process.
“Aye, do ye lasses go sailin’ ‘round the Mushroom World very often?” ClawgripFan9001 asked the women in an attempt to make small talk with them.
“Well, neither me, my sister or our mother go out sailing that often, but Winnie does.” Jacqui admitted with a giggle while gesturing to Winnie who was sitting in the chair next to hers.
“Yeah, it’s because my family owns a sailing yacht since they’re pretty wealthy. My father is a golf course owner on Isle Delfino while my mother operates a luxury beach hotel in Water World (Author’s Note: She’s referring to New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s World 4). As such, I go sailing a lot every year.” Winnie admitted with a sheepish giggle, sheepishly stroking the side of her neck with her right index and middle fingers as she did so.
“Yar, that be wonderful ta ‘ear, fair lass! Tell me, what do yer favorite places o’ the Mushroom World ta sail in be?” ClawgripFan9001 inquired with a friendly grin.
“Well, I really like to go sailing around Water World so I can visit my mother while I’m in the area, and I also enjoy sailing around Isle Delfino, Sparkling Waters, and also a couple of arctic climates such as Ice Land, Sherbet Land and the like. Generally, I really like to go sailing in a lot of places around the Mushroom World as long as there’s interesting sights to be seen.” Winnie told ClawgripFan9001 with a smile, with the Sidestepper grinning and nodding in response.
“Aye, those do be some beautiful places ta go sailin’. Trust me, I been sailin’ ta those places meself many times, so I speak from experience.” ClawgripFan9001 replied to Winnie in a friendly tone of voice.
“You must be quite the experienced skipper then.” Winnie replied back with a smile.
“That I be, lass. That I be.” ClawgripFan9001 acknowledged with another nod and a grin.
“Ahem, if you’re done buttering up the guests, Mr. ClawgripFan, Waluigi and Rosalina happen to be ready to show off the first dress Mrs. Madison is trying on.” Waluigi spoke behind ClawgripFan9001, who quickly turned around to face his boss.
“Yar, ye got it, Mr. Waluigi! I’ll be gettin’ back ta work lickety split!” ClawgripFan9001 saluted Waluigi before scuttling off towards the mocktail bar so that Waluigi and Rosalina could show off the first dress Madison was going to be trying on.
“Well then, without further ado, Waluigi and his assistant present to you; The very first dress Mrs. Madison is trying on!” Waluigi proudly announced as Madison came out of the dressing room, and her friends and family exclaimed in marvel and awe at what they saw.
And that’s it for Part 1 of this Waluigi-centric story! Given that 2025 marks Waluigi’s 25th anniversary since his debut in Mario Tennis on Nintendo 64, and Nintendo likely isn’t going to be officially hosting a Year of Waluigi due to Nintendo likely prioritizing the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System, I figured I’d take matters into my own hands and celebrate an unofficial Year of Waluigi by writing various Waluigi-themed sections on a bi-monthly schedule over this next year of The ‘Shroom! Sadly, due to sickness holding me back from completing this story sooner, I was forced to split it up into multiple parts, but don’t fret, for I will be continuing this story next month! So until next time, my Waluigi-loving friends!
Random Video Analysis
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| Video by: | Victor Canil |
| Publish date: | September 5, 2023 |
| Views: | 6,265,970 (as of January 19, 2025) |
| Likes: | 102K (as of January 19, 2025) |
| Type: | Comedy |
| Description | Po from 'Kung Fu Panda' speedruns Minecraft breaking the world record time. Edited by Victor Canil. |
Welcome one and all to another Random Video Analysis, where I check out a video and provide info about it! This time I'm going to discuss another goofy video; it's about Po from the Kung Fu Panda franchise speedrunning the popular video game Minecraft. Unlike my past analyses, "Po Speedruns Minecraft" is a longer video, but I'll still take it on!
What's it about?
Essentially, Po finds himself in the magnificent world of Minecraft and makes it his goal to speedrun it.
Po spawns in the middle of a grass/forest biome. He then runs to a nearby house and breaks a window of it. Po steals 3 iron ingots from a treasure chest located within the building before he is kicked out. What? He was technically breaking and entering as well as robbing the place!
Po then punches a tree to obtain wood, which he uses to craft (ha) a crafting table. With it, he uses the Iron he obtained earlier to create a bucket to store some nearby water in. Next, Po pours the water on lava to make it obsidian. He then obtains flint from gravel and uses it to light the obsidian, opening a portal to the Nether.
Once in the Nether, Po becomes fascinated upon discovering Blazes, and decides to reach them. If only it were that easy! The Dragon Warrior uses dirt to build a bridge across a wide gap, but his plans are cut short when a Ghast blows up his bridge with a fireball. This causes the panda to fall to the ground, barely hanging on. Before Po fully loses consciousness, he sees a group of Ghasts in the distance.
In a vision, Po finds himself on a quiet cliff where a cherry blossom tree and turtle inhabit. Now with low morale, Po considers quitting and going home to make noodles. The turtle (assumedly Master Oogway) encourages Po to not give up and reminds him that the present is a gift. Po then receives flashbacks of his training in the past.
Now awake, Po uses inner peace to catch and toss back the fireballs spit out by the Ghasts, defeating them (as well as a few Endermen) in the process. Po's hand also lights on fire but he extinguishes the flame by putting it in his mouth. With the obstacles in his way removed, Po climbs up the Nether Tower and defeats the Blazes with his expert Kung-Fu moves, earning himself Eyes of Ender.
The Dragon Warrior escapes the Nether and uses the Eyes of Ender to search for the End Portal. Descending into the fortress it is in, Po struggles to climb up a few stairs before he places the eyes in the End Portal. It then activates, and Po jumps into The End. Now he has to take on the Ender Dragon!
Po has a plan - to ignite the rocket chair! Po uses it to blast high into the sky, releasing fireworks explosions all around him that destroy the End Crystals. Unfortunately for Po, his chair disintegrates and the panda falls to the ground at a fast speed. Using Rainbow Dash reflexes, Po places water on the ground right before he lands, cushioning his fall and allowing him to get off unharmed. For his final attack, Po performs the Wuxi Finger Hold on the Ender Dragon, taking it down for good and ultimately completing his adventure.
Interesting observations
- Po's finishing time is 3:08:31 (3 minutes, 8.31 seconds).
- Most of the footage of Po is taken from the first three movies in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. Kung Fu Panda 4 released approximately 6 months after this video, so no footage from said film was used. When Po fights the Blazes, he has a different model than he did in the movies, suggesting that it was from a video game. All footage of Po has a green screen-like effect.
- Additionally, Master Oogway's lines are directly taken from the first film.
- Calm background music plays throughout the video.
- One of the tracks is "Dampen" by Layne McDonald, a theme commonly used in speedrun meme videos.
- Of course, Minecraft music plays as well!
- The timer is present for the entirety of the video, at the top left corner of the screen.
- During the Nether segment, some of the environment was blue. The cherry blossom tree indicates that the version of the game was 1.20, the latest at the time the video was created.
- When Po is fighting off the Ghasts, he is a motionless PNG image for a few seconds.
- Another instance of this (albeit with a different image) occurs before the final battle against the Ender Dragon in The End.
- Po climbed up a solid wall without any issues but somehow struggles with a few stairs.
- Some moments are from a first-person POV in Minecraft, such as the Crafting Table and End Portal scenes.
- Mr. Ping's voice can be heard when Po rides the rocket chair, despite him not present in the scene. He says "Po! Come back!"
- When Po uses the Wuxi Finger Hold to defeat the Ender Dragon, his hand is much bigger than the dragon itself.
| The 'Shroom: Issue 215 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • Poochy's Picks • Poll Chairperson Election • Credits |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |
