Paper Mario RPG Special Comic
The title of this article is official, but it comes from a Japanese source.
If an acceptable English name is found, then the article should be moved to the new title.
| Paper Mario RPG Special Comic | |
|---|---|
| |
| Artist | Takeshi Tamai |
| Publisher | Shogakukan |
| Label | Shōgaku Yonensei |
| Original language | Japanese |
| Release date |  September 2004[1] |
Paper Mario RPG Special Comic is a 16-page one-shot manga that adapts the Prologue and Chapter 1 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, written and drawn by Takeshi Tamai, and published in the ninth issue of Koyon Super Comic Box by Shogakukan in the Shōgaku Yonensei label.
Plot synopsis[edit]
Parakarry delivers a letter from Princess Peach to Mario. Mario opens it hoping that it is a love letter, but it appears to instead be a cursed chain letter. Reading further reveals this to have been a joke by Peach, who actually wrote to have Mario join her on a treasure hunt. Receiving the Magical Map alongside the letter, Mario excitedly rushes to a boat to meet up with her, but as the boat is 2D, he jumps right over it and into the sea. He is hung like a flag on the boat's flagpole as it sails away.
Arriving in Rogueport, Mario cannot find Peach. He asks the townspeople for help finding her and puts up a wanted poster instead of a missing poster. Goombella then approaches Mario and suggests that Peach may no longer be in Rogueport, given that there are rumors that she was kidnapped by the X-Nauts for having the Magical Map. As they talk, Lord Crump and his platoon can be seen capturing Princess Peach in the background. Refusing to believe that Peach was kidnapped, Mario reveals that he has the map, leading to him and Goombella being chased by a mob of Toads who want to see it for themselves.
Escaping from the mob, Mario and Goombella go down a pipe and find themselves in a room with a black chest. It begs Mario to set it free and promises him a reward if he does. Ignoring the advice of a suspicious Goombella, and being too impatient to find the Black Key, Mario slams his hammer into the chest. Its injured spirit comes out and curses Mario to fold into a paper airplane, only to be left disappointed when Mario and Goombella enjoy it.
Utilizing Mario's new ability, he and Goombella fly to Petalburg to begin their search for Princess Peach. They fly over Koops, who is trying to convince Koopie Koo to let him go to Hooktail Castle to rescue his father; she thinks it is too dangerous with Hooktail around. When Koops tries walking away, Koopie Koo throws him into the air, but he rams into Mario, returning him to normal as he and Goombella fall to the ground. Koops is ecstatic to meet the great "superhero" Mario and begs Mario to go with him to Hooktail Castle. He explains that his missing father left to find the Crystal Star there, which convinces Mario that Peach must have also went to the castle to look for it.
Koops tells Mario that they first need to find the pipe to Hooktail Castle, but Mario says that because he can transform into a paper airplane, they can just fly there. He messes up and folds into an origami crane instead, but he is still able to fly Goombella and Koops to the castle. Once there, Mario tries opening the door, but accidentally knocks the entire castle over as it is 2D like the boat. This reveals Hooktail, who is furious that her castle was destroyed.
As the battle against Hooktail begins, Mario and Koops find themselves on a stage, with the crowd of Toads from before acting as the audience. Goombella advises them to appeal to the crowd to charge Star Power, but they misunderstand her and perform manzai. Hooktail begins attacking, but is unable to stomp Mario because he is too thin and keeps slipping between her claws. Mario responds by throwing Koops in his shell at Hooktail, only for him to bounce off her snout and hit the theater ceiling. Though Koops lands on Mario's head and injures him, he had knocked off the stage lights, which proceed to fall on Hooktail and set her on fire. Hooktail bemoans being papercraft before fainting.
The defeated Hooktail coughs up Koopley, reuniting him with Koops. The two hug each other to a round of applause from the audience and Mario, as the narration states that Koops and Koopley lived happily ever after. It then cuts to Princess Peach at the X-Naut Fortress. She demands to know what will happen to her while Grodus is upset that he barely got any screen time. The author's note on this final page urges readers to play the game to see the rest of the story.
Gallery[edit]
Cover of the Koyon Super Comic Box issue containing the manga
Paper Mario RPG Special Comic listed in the table of contents
Mario jumps over the boat
Mario arrives in Rogueport
The Magical Map
Mario as a paper airplane
Koops and Koopie Koo
Koops reunites with Koopley
Peach held captive at the X-Naut Fortress
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ペーパーマリオ Pēpā Mario Āru Pī Jī Supesharu Komikku |
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Special Comic |
References[edit]
- ^ Former auction of the magazine including the manga. Japanese. Retrieved September 16, 2025 from jp.mercari.com.
- ^ File:Paper Mario RPG manga.jpg
