Recap / Goomzilla E8: "Luigi's Quest"

On the road again.

Upload Date: August 9, 2014

Completion Date: January 8, 2016

Are you ready for another big six-part Goomzilla production?

One day, Mario goes to a party hosted by Princess Peach, but Luigi stays behind to sleep in—just in time for the Diode to be finished, a machine created by Bowser that transfers one person’s power to another. With the Diode finished, Bowser sends Kamek to capture the Mario Bros. and Peach so that Bowser can give their power to her and make her a key force of the Koopa Troop.

Luigi’s absence at the party only leads Kamek to capture Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and Toad. Toad soon escapes and warns Luigi, who sets sail to Rogueport to avoid Kamek, while Toad puts on his Captain Toad uniform and goes to help Luigi.

After Luigi gets his bindle stick stolen, a mysterious cloasked stranger named Solus helps him get it back. Solus says he knows about the Diode and tells Luigi to find three Energy Cells to save his friends. The Energy Cells are stored in castles around the Earth and guarded by three neutral parties.

Captain Toad catches up to Luigi, and the search was on. Their first stop was an underwater castle just around Rogueport. Its guardian, Blooper, is willing to hand over his Energy Cell if his missing tooth is retrieved from Wario and Waluigi. Recalling seeing an auction where they were selling said tooth, Captain Toad agrees, and although the customer they sold it to wouldn’t give it up without a fight, Blooper eventually manages to get his tooth back, and trades his Energy Cell to the two heroes.

Meanwhile at Bowser’s Castle, Bowser makes an alarming discovery: by transferring some of Mario’s power to Peach, she becomes powerful enough to overpower Bowser’s minions and almost save him had Bowser not catch her in the act. Knowing that she'll never stop trying to help Mario, Bowser takes her to a hypnotist from Rogueport, who uses his hypnotic powers to turn Peach’s loyalty over to Bowser.

Luigi and Captain Toad’s search for the Energy Cells continues in the Western Plains, where the power from the Energy Cell they’ve obtained helped them win the long-jump competition they needed to win. The second Energy Cell is guarded by Francis, who is very strict with his defenses, and has to be tricked into handing over his Energy Cell. Once he realized he’s been tricked, a fight ensues, that eventually leads Luigi to accidentally breaking Francis’ limited-edition poster of Lady Bow. Realizing they were too hard on Francis, they give Francis a date with Birdo in exchange for their freedom.

The final Energy Cell is located in a mansion in the Eastern Woods, owned by Lady Bow. But Bow went missing last night, and the other Boos—including the mansion’s butler, Bootler—can’t find her anywhere. It turns out Doopliss, a Duplighost that loves to impersonate other people, was posing as both the mansion’s providers so he could trap everyone in the mansion’s pantry. With Doopliss exposed, Lady Bow & Bootler reward Luigi with the final Energy Cell.

After showing their progress to Solus, he volunteers to help them get to Bowser’s Castle and save his friends. Once there, they find that Peach is under Bowser’s control and has all of Mario’s power. She attacks Luigi, and Luigi’s fight with her was a losing battle. Thankfully, Luigi screaming Mario’s name made Peach realize how much she loves Mario, bringing her back to her senses. Solus also defeats Kamek by swapping his power with that of a Spiked Paragoomba, leaving Kamek too weak to move and the Paragoomba too powerful.

Once the heroes were in position to be restored, Solus reveals his true colors. He wanted Mario’s power all to himself, and takes it all from Peach at the last minute. Solus then confronts Bowser and reveals that he was once a fully-fleshed Koopa Troopa and Bowser’s closest minion, but after he fell into lava and burned all his flesh off, Bowser didn’t recognize him and exiled him. As retribution, Solus throws Bowser potentially to his doom.

But Solus doesn’t stop there. He transports Luigi to his headquarters, where he reveals that he came up with the idea of the Diode in the first place, sees the entire world as selfish, and plans to destroy the unneeded Luigi. Koopa, who by this point has been desperately trying to placate Bowser, volunteers to help Luigi fight Solus.

The final battle with Solus was a losing one, but Captain Toad manages to build a ray gun to take down Solus once and for all. With Solus gone, Mario’s power goes back to him.

The guardians of the Energy Cells send their regards to Luigi and his rescued friends, and even Bowser learns to treat his minions better—while Kamek remains powerless.

View Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, and Part 6 here. You can also view the Hilarious Outtakes here.

Tropes applying to Luigi’s Quest:

• Adaptation Dye-Job: The Lady Bow in Paper Mario 64 had a green coloration instead of this one's white.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Francis and Lady Bow.
• Ad-Break Double-Take: Part 6 replays the moment of Solus' betrayal that concluded the previous part.
• An Aesop: "What matters is not the power you possess, but the way you choose to use it."
• Aesop Amnesia: This is the second time Bowser learns to treat his minions better. The first time was in Bowser and the Koopas’ Staff.
• Art Shift: Luigi and Captain Toad making their way through the Rogueport Sewers as paper silhouettes was made entirely in stop motion.
• Back from the Dead: Solus as a Dry Bones, then again as a ghostly head.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Bowser and Solus.
• Big Damn Heroes: Captain Toad.
• Big Damn Movie: The second one in Goomzilla’s series.
• Bindle Stick: Provides the page image.
• Borrowed Catchphrase:
  Solus: So long, eh, Bowser?
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Peach attacking Luigi while under hypnosis.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Bowser says "We'll let Super Princess Peach help," Kamek's reply of "Er...okay" can be heard as him thinking "Did you really just say that?". A more straightforward example is when Doopliss says he likes playing Luigi's Mansion. Finally, Solus threatens to "end Luigi's game."
• Break the Haughty: Francis cries when his limited-edition Lady Bow poster gets destroyed. Even Luigi and Captain Toad feel a little guilty for indirectly breaking it.
• Butt-Monkey: Captain Toad always seems to get the short end of the stick in this movie. His inability to jump doesn't help.
• Co-Dragons: Koopa and Kamek.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: While being held tied up by Bowser and his minions, Yoshi sees a delicious cake in front of him, but he's too far away from it to eat it.
• The Collector: Francis.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The energy cells' colors matched those of their guardians, or their surroundings.
• Damsel in Distress: Exaggerated with Peach, a prisoner not only to Bowser, but to her own mind as well.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Once Bowser's closest minion, Solus was a Koopa Troopa who accidentally fell into the lava, leaving himself as a Dry Bones. Bowser doesn't recognize him, and it all goes downhill from there.
• Darker and Edgier: Once again, noticeably darker in tone than the regular episodes.
• A Day in the Limelight: An even bigger one for Luigi than Luigi the Prankster. To a lesser degree, Koopa gets some focus as well.
• Deader than Dead: Actually even deader than deader than dead. Solus accidentally fell into a pit of lava, which stripped him of his skin, but he came back as a Dry Bones. When first defeated by Luigi and Koopa, he disappears, but becomes a near-invincible ghostly head. But then Captain Toad stepped in and zapped him into oblivion with a ray gun he built, destroying the monster once and for all.
• Distressed Dude: Mario.
• Enemy Mine: Much like in Bowser and the Koopas’ Staff, Koopa teams up with the heroes to fight a common enemy.
• Evil All Along: Double subverted. Solus was first believed to be a good guy, but then he betrays the heroes and takes down Bowser on his own. After that, he acts like it's a happy ending for the Mario Brothers. And then we arrive at his headquarters...
• Family-Unfriendly Death: Thankfully, the horrific burning of Solus’ flesh occurs off-screen.
• Fetch Quest: Luigi must search for the three Energy Cells of the Diode.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: As if Bowser failing to recognize him when he falls into the lava and becomes a Dry Bones isn't scarring enough, Bowser never seems to show visible signs of wondering what happened to Solus in the first place, even after ten years have passed. Keep in mind that Solus was once Bowser's closest minion.
• For the Evulz: Bowser and Solus at least have some clear motive for the things they do, but Doopliss simply does evil things for the hell of it.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Captain Toad manages to build a ray gun in Luigi's Quest on his own.
• Give Geeks a Chance: Birdo’s presumed relationship with Francis.
• The Hero: Luigi.
• Heroic Willpower: It appears Peach is still trying to fight her hypnosis, as she tries to break Mario out of his cage. But with Kamek seeing this as "enthusiasm to absorb his power", it's hard to tell for sure. Later comes in full circle when Luigi manages to remind her of how much Mario means to her.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Inverted. It's Bowser who gets hijacked by another villain.
• Hilarious Outtakes: Much like Mario’s Quest, they have their separate video.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Solus defeats Kamek by managing to get all of his energy sucked into a Spiked Paragoomba, which was already powered up enough by the Diode by this point. The effect leaves him too weak to stand up.
  Kamek: Oh, are you serious?
• Hypnotize the Captive: When Peach almost rescues Mario with the power she's gotten from him, Bowser opts for this so she won't do that again.
• Hypocrite: Solus, who used Luigi all this time, had the gall to call him selfish.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Luigi’s fight with a brainwashed Peach.
• In the Hood: Solus, for the most part.
• It Only Works Once: When Luigi gets to Bowser's Castle, he falls for Doopliss' trick when he posed as Captain Toad. But because Solus warned him later of Doopliss' presence, when he tried to trick Luigi by pretending to be Mario, Luigi wasn't fooled.
  Doopliss: Heh...you already know I'm not really Mario. You're pretty slick, aren't you, Luigi?
• Ironic Echo: Princess Peach's "oh, did I win?" is particularly chilling when she says it while she has the high ground over Luigi in her hypnotic state.
• Karma Houdini: An almost literal Houdini in this case. Bowser recruits a mushroom hypnotist to make Peach loyal to him, and the hypnotist suffers no consequences for it. Even worse is that Bowser has presumably rewarded him nicely for his troubles.
• Kick the Dog:
  • Doopliss falls under this when he tries to expose Solus in front of his “companions”.
  • After potentially killing Bowser in front of the loyal Koopa's eyes, Solus decides to rub salt in the wound.
  Solus: So Koopa, how does it feel to know your precious ruler has fallen?
• Killed Off for Real: Solus.
• Knight of Cerebus: Solus could give Bowser and the Hands a run for their money.
• The Lancer: Captain Toad.
• Late to the Tragedy: It was because Luigi hasn't attended Peach's Castle with Mario that he avoids Kamek's kidnapping of his friends. Doubles as Slept Through the Apocalypse since he was in bed as well.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Captain Toad makes the impulsive move of attacking Bowser, prompting the latter to chase the former throughout the castle.
• The Man Behind the Man: Solus was the mastermind behind the Diode.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: There are a lot of messed up minions created by the Diode. We have a Goomba with a scary face, a Goomba that explodes, a Spiked Paragoomba with Kamek's magic, etc..
• My God, What Have I Done?: Luigi and Captain Toad when they accidentally destroy Francis' limited-edition portrait of Lady Bow.
• Nothing Is Scarier: The entire scene of Bowser's castle in Part 4, which shows Peach's capabilities while under hypnosis, has no music whatsoever.
• Obviously Evil: Sorry, Goomzilla, but quite a bit of Solus' suspicious behavior made a lot of your viewers correctly guess that he was a bad guy.
• Once More, with Clarity: When Captain Toad and Koopa fell through the trapdoor of a haunted house, Captain Toad didn't know Koopa put a tracking chip on him.
• Palette Swap:
  • The Bandit that lives in Rogueport is really just a Shy Guy plush with a different face taped on him.
  • Before Solus’ accident, his Koopa Troopa plush was the same one used for Koopa, just with hair sticking up.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Nearly all the enemies Luigi and/or Captain Toad encounter in their adventure gets one of these in.
  Bob-omb: You want this super-rare sea tooth? Hah! Don't make me laugh! I just sold my house for this thing! You're going down for that one!
  Francis: Nerr! You tricked me! Room into lockdown mode!
  Doopliss: No more playing around! It's showdown time!
  Solus: If that's how it is, I'll fight you too, Koopa. Prepare for the end!
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Solus gives a hefty one to Bowser.
  Solus: So, King Bowser, do you remember me? [Beat] No, of course you don't. I used to be your closest minion. But then one day, whilst cleaning the walls in the basement, I slipped and fell into the lava. I had this burnt, dry body. When I reported back, you didn't recognize me. You wouldn't let me anywhere near you. You only had eyes for your newest #1 minion, Koopa. Eventually, you ordered me to leave your castle. I couldn't believe it! My loyalty to you had been for nothing! Well, now I'm here with the power of Super Mario, and I'm going to be the one who defeats you!
• Remember the New Guy?: This is Kamek’s first appearance in Goomzilla’s series, yet Bowser accepts his presence, no questions asked. Not only that, Mario and his friends freak out when he confronts them, but again have never met him before in this plush series.
• The Rival: Kamek to Koopa for Bowser’s affection.
• Shout-Out:
  • Similar to how Mario’s Quest was primarily based on Paper Mario 64, this is primarily based on Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
  • Peach being hypnotized to be loyal to Bowser brings Super Mario Adventures to mind.
  • There's a reference to The Sims 3 during Swoon.exe—specifically, the "ask sign" option.
• Something We Forgot: Kamek never gets his power restored to him.
  Kamek: Hello? A little help here?
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Downplayed example. When Peach remembers all the good times she had with Mario to undo her hypnosis, we hear Shooting Star Summit for this moment. Goomzilla could have used something more heartwarming for this moment to drive the point home of how much Mario means to her, but he admitted that he basically was going for less of a heartwarming approach and more of a mystical approach.
• Stealth Insult:
  Solus: You're stronger than you look.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
  • Captain Toad is debatably this to Kolorado’s portrayal in Mario’s Quest. They both long for adventure in explorer's outfits and are the end result of a bit of slapstick, but Captain Toad's normal pursuit for treasure is not focused on here, he's more capable than Kolorado, and he ultimately stops the bad guy in the end.
  • Doopliss is this to Koopa in Mario’s Quest, since they both pose as other people.
• Tears of Joy: Goomzilla actually sews one up for Francis when Luigi and Captain Toad replace the Lady Bow poster that they accidentally broke earlier.
  Francis: *sniffle* You guys are the best.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Despite presumably knowing how evil Solus is, none of the guardians straight-up murder anyone who challenges them for the Energy Cells they guard in Luigi's Quest.
• The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: Luigi's Quest has six parts, but people initially thought it would be five since Bowser's Castle seemed to be all that was left to be conquered before the day could be saved. Goomzilla made sure to include a tiny "Finale" caption below the link to the final part to make it clear.
• Verbal Tic: Kamek has “my king” when he interacts with Bowser, and Francis has “nerr”.
• Villain Has a Point: Before his reveal as a bad guy, Solus tells Luigi that Bowser only sees his minions as tools and not as allies. Given Bowser's worrying descent into Bad Boss territory in Goomzilla's series specifically, up to and including not caring when they get turned into stone, this gives Solus' story credence. The credence is further supported by Bowser not being shown wondering what happened to Solus these past ten years.
• Villainous Breakdown: When Francis realizes he's been tricked by Luigi and Captain Toad when they got his Energy Cell, he snaps, locks them in his room and attacks them. Then he cries when his limited-edition Lady Bow poster gets destroyed in the process. Although "villainous" might not be the right word here, since his only crime was guarding the Energy Cell that they needed.
• Villains Out Shopping: Wario and Waluigi selling things at their auction, and actually providing some helpful information to Luigi and Captain Toad.
• Voice of the Legion: Peach’s hypnotic state comes with a distorted voice. Lampshaded by Bowser.
  Bowser: I can ignore the change in your voice with treatment like this.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • After the mushroom hypnotist works his magic on Peach, he completely disappears from the rest of the story, not even seen back in Rogueport.
  • Bowser's reaction to the heroes getting rid of the Diode, as well as un-hypnotizing Peach, is not shown.
  • There's a Spiked Paragoomba that's absorbed all of Kamek's magic. He completely disappears from the rest of the story, his new powers difficult to control. Come Mario's Unexpected Transformation, this Goomba shows to be in perfect control of his powers—and decides to torment Mario a little with them. Unlike the other examples, this subplot would eventually be resolved in Peach's Quest.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Doesn’t Luigi just look dashing dressed as a female?
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Yes, Solus is a monster, but he’s also been through a lot ten years ago.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Princess Peach twice gets hit with this.
  • After receiving some of Mario's power, she almost succeeds in using it to rescue him... but then Bowser shows up at the last second to stop her, then later has her hypnotized so she won't try that again.
  • Near the end, Luigi and Peach go to restore Mario his power...but then Solus takes all of Mario's power from Peach at the last minute, weakening her. This was moments after getting un-hypnotized.
• You Know What to Do:
  • Bowser says this to the mushroom hypnotist that makes Peach loyal to him.
  • Solus says this to Luigi when it came to powering up the Diode with the Energy Cells.

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"What matters is not the power you possess, but the way you choose to use it."