we have but a still-frame Mario who certainly can't produce anything in the way of noises

We can make Mario move pretty easily, and should S.N.N. switch to addmusic 4.05 like I thought I read somewhere, inserting new sound effects is also pretty easy.

Mario enters the door labeled "Office of TRUNTOR". He finds himself in a sort of grove with an odd sort of mechanized tree in front of him.

Mario:(Looks to the left, looks to the right, looks to the left again, looks back to the right and up at Truntor; a question mark appears above his head.)

Truntor: AFFIRMATIVE. UNIT: TRUNTOR. DUTIES INCLUDE BLAH BLAH BLAH AND HEY-NONNY-NONNY, ETC.

Mario exits the funhouse and comes upon the carnival barker duck, who stands upon a raised platform, with two barrels in front of him.

Duck: Wasn't that fun, kid? But wait--I've got somethin' even better for you. One of these barrels contains a Goomba. Find the Goomba and win a prize! What sort of prize? That's up to you. Put up a wager--find the Goomba and win four times your wager! You have a fifty-fifth chance to win! What do you say, kid?

Mario: (Stretches out his arms to indicate he has nothing of value).

Duck: Nothing to wager, you say?

Voice: Mario, wait!

Luigi, unseen since the opening cutscene, walks into view.

Luigi: Don't worry, bro; I'll be your wager!

Mario: (Gesture of disbelief, Exclamation mark appears above his head.)

Luigi: No, no, bro; don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I trust your skill and judgement.

Duck: All right, you heard the man! For a whopping four mustachioed handiworkers, all you need to do is find the Goomba! Now: (a Goomba jumps in one of the barrels, which are then shuffled around a bit) Wheeeeeere's the Goomba?

A menu appears with two choices: "The left barrel" and "The right barrel". No matter which the player selects, the result is the same--the barrel is empty.

Duck: Ooooo, sorry kid, looks like that was wrong. I'll just be taking this, then.

Luigi (resigned): It's a fair cop.

Duck: Better luck next time! (grabs Luigi and runs off).

Mario: ...

Mario kicks over the other barrel. There is likewise nothing inside.

Mario: (Exclamation mark appears over his head.)

Another part of the carnival. The duck runs along, holding over his shoulder an unresisting Luigi, who has a completely stoic and unperturbed look on his face. Luigi does not react in any way to the following events, nor does he even appear to particularly take notice of them.

Duck: Hee hee hee, Norveg's gonna give me a MASSIVE bonus after pulling off a con like THAT one. Hindenbird is going to be soooooo jealous!!

Mario appears from the left side of the screen, doggedly running after our villain. The Duck turns his head and looks back at him.

Duck: Ah jeez, he's faster than he looks. No chance of outrunning him while I'm lugging THIS guy around; better sit tight and call for backup.

The Duck jumps onto a Ferris wheel or roller coaster, as the case may be, and pulls out a large megaphone.

Duck (shouting up and out into the distance): HEY, RUBE!

The Duck's cart moves away from Mario as his fellow carnival workers, attracted by the traditional carny call of distress, rush to their boss's aid. The battle begins.

Mario emerges atop the flagship of the Norvegian fleet. He looks around, not seeing anything in particular. Hindenbird (or whatever he ends up being called) jets up from below, bowling him over.

Hindenbird: Admiring our proud fleet? A fine assemblage of crafts...oh, but this is just the beginning.

Hindenbird jets to the right side of the screen, as Mario rights himself.

Hindenbird: I was always against it, myself, but most of our security duties are signed out to independent contractors--for now, at least. But soon, very soon...Norveg Industries will have its own, 100% private air force. Huah! (jets back and forth, proudly).

Hindenbird: Control of the skies is far too essential to leave in the hands to outside forces. When you're master of the air, you're master of the world. When you control the airspace, you control the fastest and most direct supply routes. You've got an eye on your competitors at all times; there's nothing they can truly hide from you, no matter how they scurry around inside their pathetic little anthills. And if you don't like what they're doing...

...you can BUST THEIR BUNKERS!

Hindenbird makes two low swipes at Mario, who jumps over them.

Hindenbird: Hmm...not bad, not bad. They say you're supposed to be pretty tough. But you've got one major weakness. You're a little too...

...GROUNDED.

Hindenbird makes another swipe, slightly higher than last time. Mario ducks this.

Hindenbird: Heh. But words are cheap and we're both men of action; let's leave the blathering to the PR men and carnival barkers. As for us...maybe I ought to give you a hands-on demonstration of the full tactical advantage of a superior air presence. I'm sure you'll find it a...heart-stopping experience. (Jets upward) Geronimooooo!

Doc enters a sort of control room. Norveg stands in one corner, looking away, and partially obscured by shadows.

Doc: Bad news, boss. Mario's made at to the research facility in [Fire/Ice World]. I sent Frank to take care of him, but...well, I wouldn't be surprised if Mario actually managed to beat him, to be completely honest.

Norveg: And well you shouldn't be, Doctor; I've just received word that the [Fire/Ice] facility has gone off-line. Mario will be heading here next, I imagine.

Doc: From [Fire/Ice World]? The only way to get in from there...well, he'd have to go straight through Sector 0A! He'd need to be a few sausages short of a six-pack to try to get in THAT way.

Norveg: And from your own observations, would you say that sort of reckless rushing into action strikes you as out of character for our friend...?

Doc: No, no, not a bit. You sort of have to admire the man's sheer chutzpah, really.

Norveg: Make sure not to take you admiration to far, Doctor; this man has quite openly declared war on this entire company. I imagine you would wish to avoid fraternizing with the enemy, as it were, hmm...?

Doc: Just trying to keep up the company's good image, Boss.

Norveg: Your first priority should be to assure we still have a company left behind your well-maintained image, my dear Doctor. Declare a general lockdown, with a double security detail in sector 1A.

Doc: You got it, boss.

Following his victory over Doc, Mario comes upon two KooPHDs.

Scientist: Zounds, 'tis Mario! Don't hurt us, we surrender!

Mario: (begins to make a conciliatory gesture)

A beam fires out of a ceiling-mounted cannon toward Mario's position. It obliterates the two scientists, but Mario manages to jump out of its way.

Norveg appears on a monitor.

Norveg: Agh, missed!

Mario: (gestures indignantly to the spot where the two scientists were.)

Norveg: Yes, a waste, I'm aware; they were quite competent employees. But you've driven me to the point where I just simply to accept that sort of thing.

Mario: (More indignant gestures.)

Norveg: How? Simple cost/benefit analysis. You have unmistakably demonstrated that your goal is nothing short of the full destruction of this company. If you are allowed to reach your goal, I lose everything; this is the worst possible scenario from my point of view. Thus: any action I take to eliminate you, no matter how much collateral damage it may cause the company in the process, cannot possibly leave it in a worse state than if I were to allow you to remain alive. Vicious logic, I'm aware, but life doesn't play fair with us, and we have no choice but to likewise play in kind.

Mario: (I'm-gonna-get-you-sucka pose.)

Norveg (developing bit of a strained glint in his eye}: Oh? You're going to come down here to make it easier for me? Oh, please do, please do! I have some lovely toys I've been meaning to test out for some while now, but I just couldn't find the time with you making a mess out of the rest of my projects. So please, by all means, stop on by. You'll find me just on the other side of that lab right ahead of you; just pass through all the laser diodes and auto-cannons;, take a right; you can't miss it. Oh, do watch out for those electrodes, though; they'll fry you right up like a nice little plumber croquette, tout de suite, and we wouldn't want you to die before reaching the real fun, would we? Oh, I'm just kidding--go ahead and do it; denying me the pleasure of wiping you out myself would probably be one of the best snubs you could ever make against me, so feel free to go forth and boldly bound straight into those blitzing blue bolts. Norveg out.

Norveg: So, you made it here after all. I've got to admit, you do have some skill; I can see why Doc was so impressed with you. Pity we got off on the wrong foot, you could have made a fine chief of security for us here at Norveg Industries. In hindsight, I think we can safely say contracting that out to third parties did not prove to be in the company's best interest. Ah, but live and learn, live and learn...

Mario: (Sceptical pose.)

Norveg: "Join me, Mario"? Ha-ha, don't worry, I wouldn't try anything that trite. Maybe in another life, another universe, but here and now, it seems we have a pretty clear conflict of interests, you and I. Can't run your business according to idle dreams, after all--we're still in the research and development stage of -that- particular project. Like I said, it's a simple cost/benefit analysis, and I'm afraid that you, my friend, have proven yourself decidedly bad for business. But don't get too distraught--you'll still get to make a contribution to our fine enterprise by playing a crucial role in the testing of our prototype [whatever the first phase of the boss is] here. So rest assured that you'll have a radiant spot in our company's history nonetheless. [Insert final line here which has a greater relevance to the particular form of the boss itself].

As much as I love the first one, I say that Luigi shouldn't have a voice either.

I see no problem with Luigi talking. Just be careful to not make him out of his character.

A good example is "Paper Luigi" from Paper Mario series.

...that being said, though, the thing that doesn't quite sit right with me is more the fact that Mario would bet his own brother in a game of chance. I mean, it's not like he's being forced to do this, he's betting his brother just for kicks. It doesn't seem right.

And so I don't think Dryad is said to be at Norveg's side, but against him for trying to industrialize her forest. When Mario arrives at where she is placed, she then thinks Mario is there to take the forest in Norveg's name, so she attacks, leading Mario to explain he is against Norveg after the battle.