Paper Mario 2 - Hooktail's Castle

I just got around to playing this. Yeah, yeah, I know.

Anyway, in Hooktail's Castle there's a room where you have to use Koops' hold ability to hit a switch that temporarily opens a door while standing in front of it. However, I can't get this to work: Koops always bounces off the switch automatically, and when I let go with him near the switch he forgets what he's doing and comes back to me instead (and i can't get him behind the switch either.)

Any idea? Or am I just retarded?

Try shooting the other way so he ricochets the switch on the rebound

I'm not really sure where you are. Most of the rooms in Hooktail Castle use Koops. Try reading this detailed guide and see if it helps.
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You start out in a gatehouse of sorts. Before using the springboard, exit through the ground-level door.

The bridge spanning the moat is out, but you'll get past that soon. For now,
drop down the stairs and jump across some rocks. When you're on the final rock,
you'll be close enough to retrieve the useful HP Plus Badge from the other side
of the moat with Koops. Now, return to the gate house.

In here, use the springboard. You can heal with the Heart Block in here, but
beware; it takes coins now. After that, leave through the door to the right.

Back in the moat, get onto the Plane panel. Use your ability to glide across
the moat; it shouldn't be hard at all. Enter the double doors here to finally
get into the actual castle.

See what I mean? The castle is littered with the bones of Koopas unlucky enough
to venture into the castle...and some Dull Bones. Heh heh heh... You'll fight
more Koopas in here, as well as new Paratroopas. They are winged Koopas, but a
simple jump attack or Headbonk grounds and flips them, turning them into easy
Koopa Troopas. Remember not to use Koops against them. Keep in mind that the
stairs here simply lead to another Plane panel for exit of the castle. Lastly:
hit the red block in the first hallway for the potentially deadly Power Bounce
Badge! Now, enter the next room.

This room is littered with more skeletons. Halfway through, Koops runs to one
of the skeletons. It's his poor father! He notices a note in the skeleton's
hand and reads it. It contains the last words of his dad. Although he didn't
defeat the dragon Hooktail, he did learn its weakness: crickets? There is also
a cricket-related item in the castle you should find and use against Hooktail.
The note also warns you not to fall for any tricks when fighting Hooktail and
not to give in to your kinder side. Then it closes with a final greeting
to...Kolorado!? It isn't Koops' father after all! (Mario's going to have some
explaining to do when he revisits Koopa Village) Now, continue to the right.
Examine an unusual red skeleton at the door to the next room. It comes alive
and attacks you! More accurately, he summons an army of Dull Bones, weak living
skeletons, to attack you! They'll attempt to push you back, so clear them out
with your hammer and make your way to the Red Bones to engage it in battle!

This fight shouldn't be too hard. The Red Bones is accompanied by 4 of his Dull
Bones minions. The Dull Bones have only 1 HP, but 2 attack and 1 defense. Don't
try using any jump-based attacks on them. The Red Bones has 5 HP and 3 attack
and can come back to life a few turns after you beat him, so save him for last.
To clear out all the Dull Bones at once, try using Koops' Power Shell attack.
After that, focus on the Red Bones and any Dull Bones it creates until you win.
After that, go through the door it guarded to the next room.

You emerge in a very tall room. Go right and up the stairs, grabbing the Shine
Sprite along the way. These objects are used to promote your partners *BOOM*,
but you'll need 3. You can't go through the locked door, so investigate the
stone blocks. You don't appear to be able to do anything...or can you? If you
whack the purple block on the lower ledge, another purple block lowers down to
the ground nearby! Go back up and use the purple block to jump across the stone
ones and smash a yellow block. This frees another gravity-defying block marked
with a yellow triangle. Hit the corresponding block to raise it and stand where
it was. Hit the red ! switch with Koops' field skill to reverse the direction
of the stairs! Climb them in their new position and use Koops again from the
ledge you can reach to get a Castle Key to unlock the door. Hit the ! switch
again from the other side to reset the stairs.

Before leaving, you have a few Star Pieces to get. First, stand next to the
purple switch block while facing away from it. Use Koops' field skill and hold
X. Climb the stairs and get onto the moving purple block, then release X. This
hits the switch and lets you ride the block up like an elevator. Go through the
door you can now reach to find a ledge in an adjacent room with a Star Piece!
Now, go back and lower the purple block. Repeat the "elevator" procedure, this
time with the yellow moving block. You can now jump to a high ledge with
another Star Piece on it. Now, unlock the door to the next room.

You can ride the giant green block in here by hitting the switch with Koops,
but there's another locked door after that. Save with the Save Block, then go
through the east door.

In this dungeon-like room, you'll probably notice another Attack FX Badge much
like the one you could get from Dazzle in a jail cell. There's no way to reach
it right now; try the ! switch. It briefly raises some bars in another cell,
but not for long enough for you to go through. Use Koops' field skill again to
hit the switch while standing right in front of the bars, then quickly go
through them to the next room.

The only feature of this dungeon is...another black chest! Don't be fooled when
it begs to be let out and pretends not to know about a curse; if it's anything
like the last one, there's a demon inside! Still, since the previous "curse"
was actually a new ability, maybe you should open the chest. (You have no
choice; in case you didn't figure it out, you're trapped behind the movable
bars in the previous room) Look for the Black Key by going to the next room.

Note the strange holes in the floor in this room. Try reaching the chest in the
center without going over them; you'll need practice for later. Once you open
the treasure chest and get the Black Key, spikes jut out of the holes, and the
spiked ceiling begins to lower! Luckily, if you have any idea at all where
you're going, you'll have plenty of time to escape.

Back in the previous room, open the black chest. It goes through the usual
routine of "cursing" you, laughing maniacally. Unlike the last one, this
"curse" can be used anywhere. You can now press and hold R to...turn sideways?
I still don't understand why Mario needs the curse of a thousand-year-old demon
to do that. Anyway, after the demon finishes his pathetic speech, go back to
the room with the jail cells.

You can now use your new Paper Mode to slip through the bars of the jail! Cool,
huh? Before leaving, be sure to slip into the leftmost cell and get the Attack
FX R Badge. Although it makes your attack sound like a frog, it's supposed to
be a cricket; this Badge is Hooktail's weakness! Now, exit the room.

Make sure to save in here, then keep going backwards.

Continue to backtrack through the tall room to where you fought the red Bones.

Okay, you're FINALLY where you need to be. One of the sets of bars in this room
is only vertical; use Paper Mode to slide through them and go right to get
another Castle Key. Now that you have this, leave and go to the Save Block
room.

Save once again in here if you wish, then climb the stairs and use Koops to hit
the small green block while standing on the huge one. After the ride is over,
climb the stairs and go through the locked door.

In case you have no sense of direction, you're back in the tall room, on the
next level. If you're injured, heal with the Heart Block in here. There's a gap
in the walkway up ahead; hit the ! switch to fill it in. At the next gap, use
Koops' field skill to hit the switch. There is no switch at the third gap,
however. Jump through the open window near it and go along the windowsill to
get past the gap. (When you're outside, go to the right first for a Star Piece)

Fight some more Dull Bones in the next room. Hit the green ! block on top of
the stairs to lower another huge block. Remote-control Koops to hit it while
standing on the block and ride it up to a walkway with 2 doors and some
Goombas. Go through the left one first.

This appears to be a storage room; it's filled with weapons and treasure.
There's also a masked mouse in here who introduces herself as Ms. Mowz, a
world-famous treasure hunter. She's come to the castle to seek out a rare
Badge. She doesn't seem to care much about the Crystal Star and leaves, already
having what she came for. As she does, she kisses Mario. (First Goombella, now
Ms. Mowz? Does Mario have new cologne or something?) She also gives you a tip
about a Badge that can defeat Hooktail, which you should already have. After
Ms. Mowz leaves, plunder the treasure she was guarding. There's a second Shine
Sprite in here, and the chests contain a Castle Key, Mushroom, and Honey Syrup.
After getting everything, exit the room.

Go across the walkway and unlock the door.

The next door seems to be on an unreachable ledge. Or is it? Whack the yellow
block once to lower another block, then remote-control Koops to raise it while
you're standing on it. Get off the block and carefully make your way along the
narrow rafter. You'll soon reach a Plane Panel to the left; use Paper Mode to
slip through the bars and reach it. Before using the Panel, get onto the far
rafter and go right to reach a Star Piece. Now, return and use the Plane Panel
to reach the far door.

You're almost to the end, but if you want a Badge you'll have to take a detour.
Go down the short flight of stairs and hit the small yellow block to lower a
huge one. Drop down to where it fell; you can now reach the Last Stand P Badge
on a ledge. If you get the Badge, you'll have to make your way back through the
last few rooms to get to the highest stairs again. Anyway, climb up to the
highest landing. Be sure to get the Shine Sprite here; you should have enough
to level up a partner with Merlon after you return to Rogueport! Now, exit
through the door.

You emerge on a high bridge far above the ground leading to the tower where
Hooktail lives. Avoid or fight the Paratroopas up here and climb the long
staircase leading up the tower. A Spiky Goomba is impossible to avoid, but it
should be easy. Once you reach the top, Save and Heal if necessary, make sure
you have the Attack FX R Badge equipped (and some attack Badges like Power
Smash), then enter the massive final doors.

You enter a huge chamber with Hooktail right on top of you.
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Parakarry was right. Thanks mang.

I'm fairly dissapointed in your thought processing skills, Thrasher.


Oh and the fact that you are just now playing that awesome game.

I know. I've had the game since last christmas too - I just don't play consoles nearly enough

And I think we can put this one down to a brainfart.

Just a tip, if you see a shine sprite hovering over an odd place, try shooting koops under it. If a shine sprite is too high up, don't wait for the best boots. hit under it with a hammer.