#merlee spm

[radylis]

SPM Theory: Merloo and the Fourth Pure Heart

«The Ancients traveled to many worlds to entrust people with Pure Hearts. It was to keep them safe from destruction or misuse by those with evil hearts. The Pure Hearts were drawn by their own power toward those strong with love. The Ancients used this trait to find suitable guardians in each world. And a few romances also began as a result of these little journeys… Many of the Ancients who found guardians fell in love with those they met. And so they lived their days happily in the world they'd visited out of duty. This is how the legend of the hero was passed down to future generations…»

This is one of Garson's stories from Super Paper Mario. In it, it's explained that the Ancients decided to entrust the Pure Hearts to well-meaning people in different worlds for safekeeping until the hero arrived.

However, although there's a great emphasis in the guardians here, there is one Pure Heart whose guardian we know nothing about...

Let's start with a little recap. During SPM's events, Mario and company find the Pure Hearts in the following places:

❤️ The First Pure Heart is given to Mario by Merlon in Flipside.

🧡 The Second Pure Heart is given to Mario by Merlumina in Yold Ruins, with Fracktail also serving as a guardian to it.

💛 The Third Pure Heart is obtained from Merlee and it was hidden within her Mansion.

💚 The Fourth Pure Heart is found within Fort Francis, with Tippi's happiness releasing it from its hiding place.

🩵 The Fifth Pure Heart is handed over by Squirps, prince of the lost kingdom of Squirpia.

💙 The Sixth Pure Heart is obtained from the Floro Sapiens, who explain that King Croacus IV was its current owner.

💜 The Seventh Pure Heart is kept at Sammer’s Kingdom, with the current King Sammer being its guardian and, thus, the one who has to give it to the heroes (or rather, the one who should have given it to the heroes).

🤍 The Eighth Pure Heart, lastly, was entrusted to Jaydes and Grambi, rulers of The Underwhere and The Overthere respectively, who transformed it into their daughter, Luvbi. In the end, Luvbi herself decided to go with the heroes, reverting back to her original form and accepting her fate as the final Heart.

Notice something strange? There was exactly one Pure Heart that wasn’t given to the heroes by anyone. That's right; it's the fourth one, the green Pure Heart...

All the other Pure Hearts were being guarded by at least one person (although in Croacus' case, he wasn't exactly "guarding" it). Yet the green Pure Heart was just found inside a fortress/castle.

Here's what Merlon says about it when you return to Flipside after completing Chapter 3:

«I think that castle was once a dwelling of the Ancients I told you of earlier. It seems that my ancestors have roamed far and wide in their dimensional travels. “In the castle beyond the great sea, we hid a Pure Heart and sealed it safely…” Yes, I remember reading such a passage in the Light Prognosticus. The seal could only have been broken by a powerful pulse of love and trust…»

Isn't it strange that the Ancients just seemingly hid a Pure Heart within a random castle they found and assigned no sort of protection to it except for a seal?

In Garson's story, it's stated that the Pure Hearts were entrusted to "suitable guardians", and so it'd be more believable to think that there used to be a guardian for the green Pure Heart as well.

And I believe this Pure Heart's guardian (or, at least, its original guardian) was none other than Merloo.

Now, if you're part of SPM's fandom you'll probably already know that Merloo has been the subject of much theorizing; he's a quite mysterious figure described as "a great magician who could control dimensions" and, allegedlly, the writer of the Light Prognosticus too (although Merlumina is also stated to be its writer).

Nothing more is known about Merloo himself... And there aren't any Ancient-related characters who look like him in-game, unlike with the other three sages we hear about in SPM...

But why Merloo as the green Pure Heart's guardian? Well, that's because I think the other three sages were also entrusted with a Pure Heart each...

My evidence? The fact that another of Garson's stories sheds light on Merlumina's sister, who was tasked with finding one of these suitable guardians. She fell in love with said guardian, the King Sammer of that time, ultimately marrying him and having 100 kids together; this means that the King Sammer we meet in SPM (who is the purple Pure Heart's current guardian) is a descendant of them.

All of this aligns with the Garson story I cited at the beginning of this post. But, considering Garson spoke in plural ("Many of the Ancients who found guardians fell in love with those they met"), this means Merlumina's sister wasn't the only case of an "ancient x guardian" couple happening...

Let's take a look at the other Ancients we know of:

Merlight is stated to be a "distant ancestor" of Merlon, who at the time of SPM is in possession of the red Pure Heart.

Merlumina is an ancestor of Old Man Watchitt, and her spirit can be found in the same dimension/world as him, guarding the orange Pure Heart.

Merlimbis is a "direct ancestor" of both Merluvlee and Merlee; the current yellow Pure Heart's owner is Merlee.

Isn't it fair for us to assume that they were also tasked with finding guardians, fell in love with them, and decided to stay in the worlds they'd visited out of duty, as Garson's story says? Well, in Merlight's case, he designed Flipside/Flopside, so he had no other option than to remain there to ensure the city's correct functioning, I suppose... But I'm getting off-track.

Returning to the matter at hand: once again we can see that Merloo's name hasn't been brought up... He's the only sage whose descendants are completely unknown to the player.

If we follow my reasoning, we have Merlight, Merlumina and Merlimbis guarding the red, orange and yellow Pure Hearts alongside their spouses, respectively. Or rather, their descendants (except for Merlumina's case; I have an idea on why this could be, but that's for another day...).

The thing is that the red, orange and yellow Pure Hearts are the first three Pure Hearts encountered in-game. So, it wouldn't be irrational to assume that Merloo was also entrusted with the next Pure Heart after those. Which, no surprise, is the green Pure Heart.

So, to recap, Merloo went to The Bitlands, found a suitable guardian, and fell in love with them (just like the rest of the sages), staying in The Bitlands for the rest of his life and eventually passing on the responsibility of protectiing the green Pure Heart to his children, who in turn passed it on to their own children, and so on...

But what happened to their castle, then? Why is it now Fort Francis?

Honestly, I have no idea for why this the way it is.

Perhaps they were forced to flee due to unknown circumstances, with no other option than to leave the Pure Heart behind? Perhaps they all died due to some illness or attack, only managing to put an emergency seal on the Pure Heart before passing away?

I'm afraid, the answer shall remain a mystery forevermore...

However, I would like to say that there are some indications that hint at the possibility of a descendant of Merloo's being encountered in-game by the heroes...

Dimentio is quite the enigmatic character, isn't he?

He's a magician with great dimensional powers, just like Merloo, even being able to create his own pocket dimension!

Not only that, but he seemed to know quite a lot about the Pure Hearts and the Dark Prognosticus' final prophecy even before meeting Count Bleck...

On top of that, the only time Dimentio is fought against in SPM outside of Castle Bleck is, precisely, in The Bitlands...

Moreover, Dimentio seems to be aware of where the entrance to Merlumina's chamber (where the orange Pure Heart is hidden) is exactly located, and he has no trouble messing with Fracktail's mind!

Furthermore, how did Dimentio go to Flipside? How was he aware of its existence? And how was he able to send the heroes to The Underwhere and The Overthere? Also, all these places hid a Pure Heart as well...

Lastly, Dimentio knew that Jaydes' power could restore a damaged Pure Heart...

It's as if he had been taught all of these facts by someone, don't you think?

This is all suspicious...

...Quite suspicious, indeed...

[starferret]

Um so I've been really into the Ancients recently-

I think the Shaman characters are super cool looking so I wanted to give them cool designs/translate them into my style (I love you mirror tool) I’ve also been doing way too much research into their lore and society

The main Flipside/Flopside gang

The old guys from Lineland

The Four Sages

The Merlee depicted in the mural in the Pit

A character I made for a thing I'm writing (based on that unused character in the game)

And Bonus!! The TTYD guys (including Dazzle cuz I think he's a Shaman too)

[pumpkiinns]

The Bashful Ghost

[camprell-art]

:) Fucking finally

Have this too:

Commissions | Patreon | Redbubble

[caecaesclubhouse]

Decided to draw TTYD/SPM characters OTHER than Vivian, Doopliss, Dimentio, or Mimi for a change 💖

[paperpeachy]

missus world wide web 🕸️

[peculiar-bleckfucker]

This is a threat.

[fixitybunny]

The Mysterious Merlee

[mx-monotone]

Guys this is absolutely stunning, I watched this comic like a MOVIE

Chapter 1-4: Soft Light (Part 14)

Lord Merloo learns of the prophecy (SPM)

First ~ Previous

[smallmariofindings]

Close-up look at the Shy Guy vase that Mario is forced to break in Chapter 2-3 of Super Paper Mario, leading to him needing to pay off his debt. The vase only appears during this one brief segment and can not be seen up-close in-game. Note that the Shy Guys holding it up are shaded in an original way not seen with any other sprites in the game.

While the vase appears to also be found inside Heronicus's house in Flipside, that is not actually the same object. Heronicus's vase is a low-resolution 2D image of the real vase from Merlee's Mansion.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: SPM (NA, GC)

[radylis]

CHAPTER 2 - MERLEE'S MANSION

🧡 ⟪ "There is another prophecy: a heart of chaos can only be beaten by four of mystery... Four heroes unite, their hope burns forth light to shatter the walls of blight. That is how despair, it dies, such is what we prophesize here in the home of the wise." ⟫ 🧡

[ last post / next post ]

(Alternative version below the cut:)

[indigosfindings]

replaying super paper mario, sporadic thoughts post-chapter 2:

very easy so far--& although ttyd was also easy, spm's gameplay is sadly substantially less rich thab ttyd's was

having said that the game design in spm is! unrelentingly charming!! the use of platforming as a framework for a varied stream of stage styles (straightforward levels, dungeons, towns, the entire 2-3 Situation) is creative in a way that imo predicts the sort of things the mario maker community later ended up making. chapter 2's set pieces in particular are extremely quirky (the rooms with traps, the rubee thing, the mazelike basement, the merlee game show lmao)

few platformers have boss fights that feel like genuine Combat, so that's pretty cool

i will confess that as a First Dungeon, yold ruins doesnt have half the sauce of hooktail castle--it's much more linear in layout, with far less of that zelda-y "explore & comprehend the space" principle that made ttyd's dungeons hit

in a similar vein, it's kind of crazy how tippi has like a fraction of the personality that goombella had. it's a bit sad for the character doing the vast majority of the talking to just.... not really have any opinions on anything

the momentum of the chapters likewise means very few npcs ever get to stick out. like, even the "first town crotchety old mayor" character was a total one-and-done, one dialogue and you never have a reason to speak to him again (mostly just speaks to the game structure, which is as mentioned a bold enough exercise that i feel i cant really fault it for that)

bringing up a menu to use items In A Platforming Context is not at all natural to me, so im finding myself just not really using them

this game is a masterclass in visual design imo. the npcs & enemies & pixls being made of primitives that reconfigure themselves into different shapes really elevates the interplay of 2d & 3d, the backgrounds/environments are extremely aesthetically satisfying (the Mathmosphere in lineland, the optical illusion in the sky in gloam valley, all of castle bleck), & i love how the constant "digital/tech" motif (eg the "dragging selection boxes to flip/teleport", the trees & shrubs looking like something youd make in ms paint, etc) is an ingenious progression of paper mario's core aesthetic design

dimentio is so fun

i ADOOOORE nastasia

the inter-chapter dialogue flashbacks are surprisingly earnest? for such a tongue-in-cheek game where almost every line of dialogue contains a joke of some kind, those exchanges feel humourless & sincere. that probably contributes to the Space the game occupies in all of our memories lol

likewise it was really interesting how peach's "escape" sequence after chapter 1 was (while, again, still extremely sardonic) aesthetically & narratively framed with such a sense of Hopelessness. that's not to say like "woahh this mario game is 10x darker than you thought!!!!", more that it's just not a space the series commonly ventures into

the Ancients stuff is being leaned into extremely hard lol. ttyd mostly teases at that kind of "mysterious rpg lore" thing peripherally (the riddle tower inscriptions, grifty, etc) so it's interesting how spm puts it front & centre in contrast, without ever sacrificing the sense of mystique

this game really highlights how interesting the wiimote is as a controller--pressing the A button while holding it sideways (ie removing your left thumb from the direction input to press a button) is something that i cant think of any other controller doing, & it projects onto that button a really interesting sense of, like, Valence

it's the kind of game that seems to beg for one of thsoe posts like "things that ACTUALLY HAPPEN in _____"

[goldeninsanity50]

On April 9th it will have been 17 years since we last saw them 💖

Btw it took me almost 8 years to beat spm because I was a dumb ass kid and couldn't figure out how to get past merlee's mansion until I got internet acess so I would just hop on and off the game over time to work on collecting rubies.

[celestialpaperhaze]

Now that more people have played TTYD, I wanted to compare and contrast a few things between that game and Super Paper Mario. In particular, this post will focus on...

PARTNERS AND SIDE CHARACTERS!

The Thousand-Year Door really shines with its partners and side characters, in part because every chapter allows one of these side characters to be a protagonist. This also ties into the "each chapter has its own subplot" idea that SPM lacks, at least in the beginning.

! SPOILERS FOR THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR !

(and minor spoilers for Super Paper Mario)

Chapter 1 allows Koops to have a mini-arc where he’s avenging his father. Even though his father turns out to be alive, this adventure to defeat Hooktail marks an important development in his character that leads him to continue traveling with Mario. In SPM, while the first chapter does drop a few key pieces of information on the Ancients, there's not really a clear subplot or side character to follow.

Chapter 2 starts out with Punio and his desire to rescue his sister, and branches out (heheh) into the Punies trying to defend their home. Meanwhile in SPM, there's a bit of a sub-plot with Mimi and Merlee that places them both in the spotlight, but that's mostly it. If the chapter had given a little more attention to the other prisoners of Mimi's debt scheme, then maybe it could've come close to establishing the environment in the same manner as TTYD.

Chapter 3 kind of puts the entire cast of the Glitz Pit in the limelight, since you don’t really know who’s who until nearing the end. I can’t really argue that it makes Jolene the protagonist because that reveal comes only once the chapter ends--but after you realize Jolene's role in the mystery of the Glitz Pit, it becomes clear that she is a key protagonist in chapter 3, and the revival of Prince Mush serves as the completion of her arc. Again, chapter 3 of SPM could've pulled this off by giving characters like Carrie some more involvement in defeating Francis; after all, she was a victim of his weirdness too, right?

After playing the first three chapters of TTYD, you begin to feel more invested in the plot of the game. However, the first three chapters of SPM are weaker in terms of establishing interest, which is largely why many people who first played the game didn't stick with it past this point. However, around chapter four, the tides begin to turn!

Chapter 4 of TTYD follows the people of Twilight Town, as you are immediately introduced to the plight of their pig curse. However, after the first battle with Doopliss, the chapter places Vivian in the spotlight. Vivian becomes the protagonist in this chapter as she finally learns to overcome her fear of her sisters and fight for what she believes in. Chapter 4 of SPM actually has Squirps as a side-protagonist, so it comes pretty close to matching TTYD's pattern here.

Chapter 5 puts Flavio in the spotlight. He is...quite the personality! He's a flamboyant, arrogant coward who's given a Brave Moment during the climax of the chapter. In SPM, we have the conflict of the Cragnons and Floro Sapiens in the forefront of the chapter, which helps better establish the world of chapter 5.

Chapter 6, being all about solving mysteries, puts your partnership with Pennington in the spotlight, thus making The Penguin With the Improbably Large Brain a protagonist of the chapter. In SPM, chapter 6 focuses on the Sammer Guys as their world is on the verge of erasure.

Chapter 7 puts the main plot of the Thousand-Year Door back in focus, so there's not much of a sub-plot. However, you could still argue that TEC is made into a protagonist for this chapter, given his act of sacrifice at the end. And of course, Super Paper Mario has Luvbi as a protagonist, and her arc with Jaydes and Grambi as a sub-plot of sorts.

In chapter 8 for both games, all the strings tie together and the focus is placed primarily on the climax and conclusion of the main plot! For SPM, this includes focuses on each villain in turn (O'Chunks, then Mimi, then Dimentio, then Count Bleck and, to a lesser extent, Nastasia).

Because TTYD's writing allows you to be close with all of the partners and side characters you meet, parting with them at the end feels like a real goodbye. Even though you know you can just reload your save file, you still have the sense that you'll miss these people and this world you've gotten to know so well.

Despite all my love for the game, I do have mixed feelings on how effectively SPM pulls this off. I think they definitely give enough attention to the game's main cast to make the players curious about them after completing the main story, but I don't feel that this sense carries over to all of the side characters and worlds from throughout the game. I'm still fond of the characters in Super Paper Mario, of course, but it's not in the same "I feel I experienced something with them" kind of way that the Thousand-Year Door does so well.

TL;DR - Each chapter in The Thousand-Year Door gives some side character a chance to serve as that chapter’s protagonist, which helps better establish the characters and worlds in that game. However, Super Paper Mario does not do this to the same extent, especially in the earlier chapters, which I believe is part of the reason many people found SPM less engaging than TTYD when it first released.

[camprell-art]

Maybe tomorrow this will be done

[ask-bleck-s-team]

heya hows the team doing? Anything interesting happening? (either post or during spm)

[POST SPM]

Mimi : "I'm good ! Now i'm actually working as a maid for Merlee.

I don't really care about the job but the dress is SO cute ! "

O'chunks : " 'm good , 've been helpin' ol' lads 'round town to make up fer th' bad things i did ( during spm) "

Nastasia : "I'm fine , i've kept a normal life after what happened ( attempt at destroying all worlds w/ the team ) . It's what he would have wanted. "

~MEANWHILE , IN THE UNDERWHERE~

*Dimentio rambling in his cell*

D-man : " This guy's a pain in the @ss "