Moment Subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.
Chapter 1
- Hooktail, the bane of Petalburg, is a rather effective Wake-Up Call Boss. With or without her weakness figured out, once you've got her on the ropes, she'll try to trick you into letting her go. Deny her attempts again and again, and she'll settle for a last resort — eating the audience. In one fell swoop, Hooktail is back, ready for more, you've lost a huge advantage, and your understanding of how the game is going to work is lying in pieces on the floor.. But does this stop Mario? Of course it doesn't. But on the other hand, if Koops is out, this is where he finally takes a level in badass and decides enough is enough.
Chapter 3
- Chapter 3 in its entirety. Battle tournaments, screaming fans, and a super-creepy mystery makes Glitzville one of the best Chapters the game has to offer.
- During Mario's stint in the Glitz Pit, the Goomba Bros. welcome him by cheating and jumping Mario and his partner with a First Strike. Now, they're obviously doomed to a quick and painful punishment, and at this point Mario and company will have the power and tools to waste them in one turn, but why waste an Establishing Character Moment? This moment can be made even better by simply guarding and completely No Selling their sneak attack. The most delicious version is, of course, if you superguard the poor bastard. Step aside, punks, the Great Gonzales has come to town.
- The egg you watch over for the first third of the Chapter turns out to be a Yoshi egg. The little guy wastes no time in become your newest Badass Adorable teammate, and proves to be the key in Defeating the Undefeatable Iron Clefts.
- Also, in the title match with Rawk Hawk, Grubba mentions that Mario has become the fighter who has quickly risen in ranks just shortly after his debut. Many of the fighters are implied to have been around for years and are still stuck in the Minor League and by the end of the Chapter, the whole roster and the fans have nothing but love and respect for you, especially after Grubba's plans are revealed and foiled.
Chapter 4
- Once you finally figure out Doopliss's game, the smug Bedsheet Ghost gives a oh so satisfying Villainous Breakdown.
Chapter 5
- The climax of Keelhaul Key.
Two awesome sailing ships, one the high-tech spike covered X-Naut ship, the other a haunted pirate ship commanded by the boss you just beat, face off in the bay and launch a full-on boarding battle, culminating in a boss fight against Lord Crump and his minions in attack formations. Now that is how you finish a chapter!Lord Crump: Buh! Buh! Buh-huh-huh! I got ammo to spare! How's THAT for "boom-bassa-boom"?!Lord Crump: WHAT THE...- Flavio, of all people, is the one to successfully convince Cortez to lend his ship to the cause, by threatening to have Mario beat the ghost pirate up further while he takes the Skull Gem, Flavio's family heirloom that turned out to be the source of power of Cortez's ship, and throws it into the ocean so it would never be found. As he himself says, he didn't become the richest man in Rogueport by not knowing how to negotiate.
- Even more awesome in that the entire crew Mario and co. sailed with joins in the ship battle, and so do all the stragglers that you rescued, including Francesca and Frankie, an innocent newlywed couple!
Chapter 6
- The climax of Chapter 6, in which the Smorgs from the day before invade the train and take almost every passenger onto the roof, at which point they merge together. It's Mario vs. a multi-tentacled monster on the top of a train known for extremely high speeds.
Chapter 7
- The launch of the Big Cannon that helps you get to the Moon in Chapter 7. Treated with all the gravitas and anticipation of an actual space launch.
- TEC managing to hold on just long enough to tell Mario and co about Grodus taking Peach to the Thousand Year Door and that they need to hurry if they want to save her.
Chapter 8
- Right before the final battle against the Shadow Sirens, if she's your active partner, Vivian tells off Beldam, who has been mistreating her all their time together, and fights her alongside Mario.Vivian: I'm with Mario all the way! Today, Sis, I am going to punish YOU, do you hear me?
- After the fight if you "talk" to them with Koops, he says "Let's leave these wimps, Mario." It really shows how much stronger and more confident he's become throughout the journey.
- The scene before the final boss. Peach, who has been possessed by the Shadow Queen, is commanded by Grodus, who never learned that Evil Is Not a Toy, to obey him. She then goes and fires a bolt of lightning at him, which leaves NOTHING BUT HIS HEAD. This coming from a Mario game.Shadow Peach: You would do well to learn your proper place, slave. No one commands me.
- Right before the second phase of the final battle, everyone around the world starts to cheer for Mario. They're on the edge of despair and plunged in darkness, but seeing the Crystal Star show up in their area reminds them of Mario's impact on them in his adventure, and it revitalizes their hope. It definitely reflects on the player too— you've come so far, and seeing all these characters rooting for you and showing the progress you've made, is just amazing.
- Even better is that Luigi sends his thoughts too- "YOU GO, BRO!" He's on his own journey and still finds time to support his dear brother. Its really incredible and one of the best moments in Mario history... well, the first time, anyway.
- And just before the final battle's second phase begins, Peach manages to regain control for a moment to fully heal Mario and his teammate.
- The fact that Mario, a chubby, upbeat, mustachioed Italian plumber, slayed a motherfucking demon. He was pitted against many things before, including his arch-nemesis, his evil twin, a living weapon, and a cackling witch, but here he takes out a vengeful demon.
Remake Exclusive
- The game getting a remake for the Switch with very impressive Art Evolution such as the characters looking much more pop out in terms of design. Also, not only are Mario and Luigi's voice clips retained but Scott Burns's voice clips will be retained for Bowser as well!
- Nothing showcases the glow-up that this game got better than the opening cutscene, with it being fully animated this time around, looking something akin to the pop-up book style the first two games were known for. If there's anything that tells you Nintendo is putting their all into this remake, this is it.
- Nothing showcases the glow-up that this game got better than the opening cutscene
Misc
- Any time Mario and company Super Guard successfully, the awesomeness of the SG being directly proportional to the flash and power of the attack. In some cases, there are opportunities for Awesome Moments against weak enemies, such as if Mario Super Guards against the Goomba Bros.' sneak attack during the opening bout of the Glitz Pit. (Depending on the requirements, Mario may be free to whale on them in his next opening turn, which only amplifies his entrance to the put).
- Stylish moves. Nearly every player attack has a point at which you can press the A button to add some flair to it. Figuring them out and executing them is fun, and they're useful too, as the crowd loves them, meaning they earn star power. Even better: some stylish moves can be chained to another stylish move.
- You gotta hand it to Grodus for having such a well-thought out evil plan. First, he sends the Shadow Sirens and Crump to deal with Mario, then realizes he underestimated him when he manages to beat them and secure the Emerald Star. Then, he has the Shadow Sirens try and blow Mario up with a bomb, and when that fails, he has Crump go undercover to ambush Mario and co after they deal with Cortez and obtain the Sapphire Star. When he learns the Shadow Sirens fell for a fake Garnet Star, he changes up his plan and creates an impressive Batman Gambit, giving Crump the final Crystal Star and deliberately making Mario think he won so he would open the thousand-year door for him, guaranteeing him access to the Palace of Shadow whether Crump won or lost to Mario. Then, when Mario and co manage to beat him in the Palace of Shadow, he reveals he considered the possibility and threatens Peach's life if Mario dares to try anything against him before attacking and nearly killing him. Even after Bowser interrupts his killing blow, he sneaks away with Peach and taunts Mario just as he arrives to see the Shadow Queen's awakening. The only thing Grodus didn't take into account was the possibility Beldam wasn't being entirely truthful about the Queen's agenda...
