Grate Guy’s Casino is one of the most obscure secrets in Super Mario RPG. The steps to getting to it defy the game’s usual logic. I think the only way I learned of it as a child was through Nintendo Power. So, here’s where you find Grate Guy’s Casino
Finding the Casino
The Casino itself is located in Bean Valley. Proceed through the area until you reach an area with five pipes in a sort of circle (more like a pentagon). Each has a plant growing from it, and a little Beezo goes from one to the other, watering them and turning them into Chewy’s. Wait until it waters the one at the top of the pentagon, then take the plant out in a battle. Once it’s clear, go down the pipe.
At the bottom of the pipe is a U-shaped hallway. At the end of it is a golden chain chomp. Attack it and defeat it in a battle. Then, move to the corner of the room and jump three times. After the first time, a sound will play, then after two more jumps, a small block will appear under you, and an exit will appear on the back wall. Jump up to the wall and take the exit.
This will take you back to the world map and will add the node for Grate Guy’s Casino. You can then enter that, but you’ll be turned away at the door by two well-dressed Toads. You need to be a member to get in.
Getting Membership
There’s a very good chance you won’t have the membership card (called the “Bright Card”). It requires you to backtrack to Booster Tower. You’ll need to go to work climbing the tower again (I found it quicker to approach from the bottom). After climbing for a little while, you’ll come across Knife Guy in the hallway. He has the Bright Card.
Bad news. You’ll need to play his game to win the card. He’ll juggle his balls, one of which is colored yellow. When he stops, you need to pick the hand he’s holding the ball in. The good news is that it’s easier than the SNES version to figure out which one it is. More bad news: you need to do it successfully 12 times in a row.
My advice here is to watch the bottom arc, where he passes the balls from his left (your right) hand) to his right (your left). There, you can watch to see if the yellow ball gets passed before he stops juggling. If it doesn’t, it’s in his left hand. If it does, it’s in his right. I was able to get to 12 times without failing on my first try, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have immediate success.
Good luck. If you pull it off, you’ll be given the Bright Card to get into Grate Guy’s Casino.
As a note, the card sells for a high price in stores. There’s also a guy in Marrymore who will beg to buy it from you for up to 10 frog coins. It’s something to consider once you’ve won all the prizes, but not that you won’t be able to get it back.
What can you win?
The big prize in Grate Guy’s Casino is the Star Egg. This is a battle item that will do a flat 100 damage to all enemies when used. Unlike most battle items, such as Rock Candy, the Star Egg is reusable. This late in the game, it’s not terribly useful, but it’s handy to have.
To win it, you have to play Grate Guy’s “look the other way” game. Essentially, you have to choose a direction to look. He’ll then point his finger, and if you’re not facing in that direction, you win. You have to win this game 100 times to get the Star Egg. Thankfully, this isn’t an unbroken chain of 100 wins. Merely, you need to accumulate 100 wins. This can take a while. This can take an agonizingly long time.
If you want my advice, feeding the Toad in Seaside Town mushrooms to amass a supply of Rock Candy (which does 200 damage to all enemies) might be a better use of your time. However, if you really want to get 100% of the items, then this is how you get the Star Egg.
Super Mario RPG is available now for Switch.
