Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (known as Paper Mario RPG in Japan), is the second installment in the Paper Mario series; it was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2004. The plot of the game revolves around Mario, who embarks on a mission to collect the seven Crystal Stars in order to open the Thousand-Year Door. After hearing that Princess Peach has gone missing, Mario must also set out on a mission to rescue her from the fiends that have kidnapped her. The game involved intermissions between each chapter, in which the player could play the role of Bowser, as well as Peach, receiving their sides of the story while the main plot continues to unfold. This game, much like its predecessor, Paper Mario, is divided into eight eventful chapters, as well as a prologue.

Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome
The adventure begins when Princess Peach goes on a cruise with her steward, Toadsworth. The two end up in Rogueport, the home of rogues and thieves. She slips away from Toadsworth and meets a mysterious hooded woman. She tries to convince Peach to buy something. After a moment of thinking, Peach sees a box which she describes "pretty". The hooded woman says it is a box with a map to a legendary treasure. She claims that the chest can only be opened by "one with a pure heart." and explains that a person like herself cannot open the chest. She says that if Peach can open it, she can have whatever is inside. The Princess eagerly opens the box and discovers that it contains a Magical Map. This is all shown in the introductory title screen. After the player creates a new file, it shows Mario's House. Parakarry, delivers a letter. Luigi goes outside the house and takes the letter out of the mailbox and returns inside. He tells Mario that a letter from Princess Peach arrived. Luigi reads the letter to Mario. After reading the letter, Luigi gives Mario the Map. Mario looks at the map and nods.

As Mario reaches Rogueport, he immediately finds trouble. The Princess is nowhere to be found, and a mysterious group - called the X-Nauts - are attacking a female Goomba named Goombella. After being beat by Mario, Lord Crump directs a large number of X-Nauts to attack; Mario and Goombella escape in the massive pileup of bodies, and slip into the main section of town. Goombella introduces herself, and explains that she is an archeology student under Professor Frankly, and attends the University of Goom. Mario goes to Professor Frankly's house and shows Frankly the map; Frankly then explains the legend tied to it. The map is connected to a massive gateway in the Rogueport Sewers - the legendary Thousand-Year Door. The door is rumored to contain a great treasure. However, a powerful seal holds the gate in place. The keys to the door are the seven Crystal Stars. If held before the door, the map has the power to reveal where the Crystal Stars lie. Frankly reasons that if the Princess is looking for the Crystal Stars, then the map will eventually reveal her location. Goombella and Mario enter the sewers, and encounter a mysterious Black Chest Demon, who curses Mario with the ability to turn into a paper airplane. Mario uses this power to reach the Thousand-Year Door; he holds the map in the air, and the location of the first Crystal Star is revealed.

Chapter 1: Castle and Dragon
Mario and Goombella show Professor Frankly the Map, and he reveals that the castle upon it is in the same vicinity as Petalburg, a village that is home to many pacifistic Koopa Troopas and Toads. Mario and Goombella travel to the small town and discover that a large, red dragon - Hooktail - lives inside the castle, and that the villagers live in fear of her. Mario and Goombella must pass through Shhwonk Fortress and play a quiz game to earn the Stone Keys before they can enter the castle of the dreaded dragon. As they pass back through Petalburg, one particular Koopa - named Koops - asks to travel with Mario, as he wishes to avenge his father, Koopley, who vanished a decade ago after he traveled to defeat Hooktail. Once they arrive at Hooktail Castle, they bypass her traps and learn her secret weakness: she cannot stand the sound of crickets. With help from Ms. Mowz and another Black Chest Demon, (which lets Mario become paper-thin), they encounter Hooktail in her lair. She fights the group, but in the end, she falls. Hooktail coughs up Koops's Dad, who has retrieved the Diamond Star from within Hooktail's stomach. Father and son are at last reunited and, as a token of his undying dedication, Koopley hands the Diamond Star to Mario.

After the battle with Hooktail, the scene moves to an unknown location, where Peach is revealed to be kidnapped. She had been kidnapped by the X-Nauts and their leader, Sir Grodus. When an X-Naut tells Sir Grodus someone nabbed the first Crystal Star, Peach guesses that it was Mario. Grodus overhears this and decides to have his Shadow Sirens steal the map from Mario. Peach then meets TEC-XX, or TEC for short. He is a massive computer that is interested in the Princess's concept of love, and asks for her help to understand it. The Princess agrees; in exchange, TEC lets her use his keyboard to send e-mail messages to Mario.

During another scene transition at Bowser's Castle, Kammy Koopa tells Bowser that Mario is hunting the seven Crystal Stars; Bowser decides that they sound like good "world-conquering tools", and wants them all to himself. Kammy also reveals that Peach was captured by someone else. Bowser is outraged at this and leaves for Rogueport to kidnap her back.

Back in Petalburg, the residents are amazed to see that Koops went from a nervous citizen to a brave warrior, and that Hooktail had been slain. As they head for the Thousand-Year Door, they receive an e-mail from Peach. Peach tells him she's been kidnapped and the people who kidnapped her are after the map she sent Mario. Mario and his team head back to The Thousand-Year Door and present their map to it. The next Star's location has been marked on the team's map; they then visit Professor Frankly for details. The next Crystal Star is in Boogly Woods.

Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree
The second Crystal Star is revealed to be in The Great Tree in Boggly Woods. Shortly after entering the area, Mario and Co. encounter the Shadow Sirens, who do not recognize him due to having lost a sketch of him given to them by Grodus. Ignoring the Sirens, the group continues. After reaching the Great Tree, Punio, whom the group had earlier met in Rogueport Sewers, reveals that is inhabited by the Punies, a small race of creatures of which he is one. After realizing that the X-Nauts locked the door into The Great Tree, Punio says that they need to find Madame Flurrie, a cloud spirit with the power over wind, to find the secret entrance. However, upon reaching her home, Flurrie reveals she had lost her necklace and doesn't want anyone to see her without it. Mario must then go back to the Shadow Sirens, who hold Flurrie's Necklace. They eventually find the sketch and recognize Mario. After defeating them and returning to Flurrie, the cloud spirit joins them in their quest. With Flurrie as their third party member, the group finds the secret entrance and enters the Great Tree to discover that the X-Nauts have imprisoned most of the Punies. Mario must navigate traps, the Jabbi tribe, and puzzles to recover the second star, in the heart of the Tree. There, Lord Crump snatches it, and sets up a time bomb to blow up the tree. After chasing him to the entrance, where he is being held up by the Puni Elder, he stops the bomb and uses his Magnus von Grapple to fight the heroes. He fails, and the group nabs the Emerald Star.

At the X-Naut headquarters, the X-Nauts tell Sir Grodus that Mario has taken the Emerald Star. Grodus becomes infuriated. Meanwhile, TEC calls for the Princess, and asks her to dance with him. After some conflict, TEC creates a hologram of Peach as a dance partner. The Princess moves through a waltz. TEC is intrigued by the emotion he feels, and again lets Peach e-mail Mario.

Meanwhile, Bowser and Kammy are in Petal Meadows. After they make it through Petal Meadows in a side-scrolling segment, they arrive at Petalburg and Bowser thinks they've found Peach and starts talking to "her", only to humorously find out it was a poster.

Back at the Great Tree, the Punies say goodbye to Mario and his team, telling them to visit the tree at anytime. As they move on, they receive another e-mail from Peach. Peach tells Mario that the X-Nauts are on the search for the Crystal Stars and tells him to be careful. Mario and his team head back to the door and once again present their map to it. The next Star's location marked on the map, they then visit Professor Frankly for details and discover it is located in a floating city called Glitzville.

Chapter 3: Of Glitz and Glory
The third Crystal Star appears on a large arena in a floating town. To reach Glitzville, Mario and the gang must visit Don Pianta, ruler of the West Side of Rogueport. He offers them the tickets they need to reach Glitzville if they can find his missing daughter, Francesca, and his mobster Frankie. The two have run off to get married; when Mario brings them back, there is a bit of confrontation between the three, but eventually the Don relents, gives the pair his blessing, and then gives Mario the tickets as promised.

Once Mario and his team arrive to Glitzville, they enter the Glitz Pit and spot the Crystal Star on the Champ's Belt, held by Rawk Hawk. They decide that the best course of action is to sign up as a fighting team and become the champs themselves. Mario talks with the guffawing Grubba and his cold assistant, Jolene, and takes on the fighter name "The Great Gonzales" (in Japanese: 『じごくかちまた しょけいにん』グレート・ゴンザレス) As Mario and his companions battle through the ranks and eventually gain a newborn Yoshi as a partner, a mysterious web of intrigue plays out: fighters vanish, cheating abounds, and a mysterious figure known only as "X" sends cryptic e-mails. The clues all reveal that the Star on the belt is a fake — the real Crystal Star is being used by Grubba, its magic fueling a power-draining machine that he uses to keep himself strong. After Mario & co. find out his plan, they chase him to the arena, where he transforms into Macho Grubba. However, the group succeeds in overpowering him in the end. Following Grubba's defeat, Jolene reveals herself as X, and explains that she was seeking her brother, Prince Mush, who was the former champion and another victim of the machine. The Gold Star, appearing out of the machine, grants her wish by bringing him back to her, and everyone wonders about the true extent of the power of the Crystal Stars.

At the X-Naut base, the Princess expects TEC to have her sing or talk; instead, he asks her to find out what Grodus is planning. Peach is surprised. TEC has never questioned Grodus's authority before. The Princess goes undercover in an X-Naut disguise and learns that Grodus is plotting to take over the world. TEC allows her to send this message to Mario, and continues thinking about the Princess once she leaves.

Meanwhile, Bowser is searching for one of the Crystal Stars at the Great Tree in Boggly Woods. He has absolutely no luck.

Back at the Glitz Pit, Mario tells the fighters and Jolene that he is retiring. They give him their thanks and say good bye. As Mario and company head for the Thousand-Year Door once more, they receive another message from Peach, telling them that the X-Nauts are planning to conquer the world. Mario and his team go back to the door and present their map before it. The next Star's location is marked on the team's map and they go and visit Prof. Frankly for details.

Chapter 4: For Pigs the Bell Tolls
The gang learns that the fourth Crystal Star is located in Creepy Steeple. Professor Frankly tells them that this "Creepy Steeple" is near Twilight Town. Mario learns from a Twilighter in Rogueport, named Darkly, that he must have something with his name written on it, or else the pipe leading there will not let him through. When Mario tells him that he does not have anything with his name on it, he writes Mario's name on the seat of his pants, allowing passage through the pipe.

When Mario & co. get to Twilight Town, they discover that it's under a curse. A monster lives in the Creepy Steeple, and rings a bell there every so often. Each time the bell is rung, a citizen transforms into a pig. Using a new Black Chest Demon power that lets Mario roll up like a paper tube, the group covers the Twilight Trail and reaches the steeple. They release some Boos (and can even fight Atomic Boo) inside, and soon meet the monster, a Duplighost. He transforms into a copy of Mario, but the group still beats him and claims his Star. It says that the chapter has ended, but in a twist, it is revealed that the monster stole Mario's name, transforming the plumber into a shadowy version of himself. His allies go with "Mario", who will only transform back if the real hero can guess his name. To this end, Mario seeks help from a strange source - Vivian, one of the Shadow Sirens, who was ditched by her sisters in town. With her help, he discovers that the monster's name is Doopliss. After guessing his name, he retreats back to Creepy Steeple. Mario chases him and they fight once more. After discovering that she's been helping Mario, her enemy, Vivian leaves. However, she suddenly reappears and announces that Mario offered her more kindness than her sisters ever did, and joins him permanently. The two defeat Doopliss and reclaim the Ruby Star.

At the X-Naut base, TEC asks the Princess to participate in a sort of "quiz show" with him. She agrees, and he strangely demands that she answer every question, at any cost. By doing this, she discovers the true "treasure" of the Thousand-Year Door — the soul of an evil demon. The Crystal Stars also work as keys in both ways — they can unlock the door, and also lock the demon away. The Princess sends this news to Mario, and wonders why TEC revealed this crucial information.

Meanwhile, the hapless Bowser continues his quest for Crystal Stars by flying up to Glitzville in his Koopa Clown Car. It malfunctions, and he must traverse underwater to return to Rogueport, soaked and angry. It's also humorously revealed that Kammy made the trip just fine, as she returns to Bowser covered in balloons and souvenirs, much to the latter's dismay. Though Bowser on the other hand, did not have "fun" while swimming, as he claims to have eaten a Blooper. He gets angry and orders Kammy to continue her research on the Crystal Stars.

Back in Twilight Town, Mario and his friends had explained to the townspeople of how Doopliss imitated Mario. The Mario who was taking all the credit for the end of the curse was an impostor and so, the townspeople apologize to Mario for the misunderstanding. Mario and his team are about to head for the Thousand-Year Door, until they receive a message from Peach, saying that the treasure is the soul of a 1000-year-old demon. Mario and his team go back to the door and present their map to it. The next Star's location has been marked on the team's map and they visit Prof. Frankly for details and discover that the next Star is at Keelhaul Key.

Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates
The fifth Crystal Star is deep within a pirate's lair, on the southern island of Keelhaul Key. To reach the island, Mario recruits the aid of the fanciful Flavio and the crusty sea Bob-omb, Admiral Bobbery. After discovering Bobbery's sad past, Mario convinces him to sail with Flavio and his crew, one of whom is Lord Crump in a disguise (known as "Four-Eyes").

On their way to the island, Mario and his compatriots are attacked by Embers, which shipwrecks them on Keelhaul Key. During the shipwreck, Four-Eyes, Admiral Bobbery, and a Green Toad were separated from the group. Undeterred, Mario and his friends venture deep into the jungles of the island. They find the three missing members of the group, only to be attacked by more Embers. Bobbery sacrifices himself, serving as a "distraction" in order to save them from the Embers. Mario and Co. return to Bobbery and help him defeat the attacking Spirits. However, Bobbery says he is close to death and wants Mario to bring him Chuckola Cola as his "final wish". Mario returns to Flavio who has found a bottle of Chuckola Cola, who gives it to him only on the condition that he trades a coconut for it, as it is a "supply". Mario returns with Bobbery's last request, and he would be happy to pass away since he and Scarlette would be reunited, although it turns out he only falls asleep. Mario wakes him up and Bobbery joins Mario's group. They return to Camp and then Flavio joins Mario's team temporarily, as he gets voted off to search for the treasure.They eventually discover the entrance to the Pirate's Grotto with the aid of Bobbery and Flavio's Skull Gem. Inside, Mario gains his fourth Black Chest Demon power: the ability to fold into a paper boat. Eventually, he uses this power to rescue stranded Toads and the honeymooning Francesca and Frankie Pianta, and to finally reach the lair of Cortez. After a fierce battle, Cortez still refuses to give up his treasure, but Mario explains he is only after the Star. Cortez is shocked, but he relinquishes his Sapphire Star (because he didn't like that "treasure"). More trouble arises when Crump abandons his disguise and leads the X-Nauts in an attack, but Cortez lends his ship as aid, and the X-Nauts are defeated once again.

In the X-Naut base, TEC has another surprising assignment for the Princess. Grodus has a disk of private information in his room, and TEC wishes to gain access to it. To this end, he helps the princess make an invisibility potion and she is forced to actually strip to nude so she would not be walking clothes, which then allows her to infiltrate Grodus' room. She brings the disk to TEC, who promises to analyze it. Peach then sends another e-mail to Mario.

In Twilight Town, Bowser and Kammy Koopa run into Lord Crump, who is searching for the powerful Superbombomb, dropped by the Shadow Sirens. A contest between who has the bigger army begins, as Bowser assembles his Koopa Troop and Crump calls the X-Nauts. In the end, the battle is a stalemate, but Bowser, in a last ditch show of bravado, uses his fiery breath and inadvertently ignites the Superbombomb...

Back at Keelhaul Key, Cortez ferries Mario and his teammates to Rogueport (and back, later on) on his ship, since Cortez sees him as "worthy" in battle. Mario gets an e-mail from Peach, telling them about what TEC is analyzing. Mario and his team make their way to the door and present their map to it. The next Star's location has been marked on the team's map and visit Prof. Frankly for details to discover the next Star is at Poshley Heights.

Chapter 6: 3 Days of Excess
The Garnet Star is in the Poshley Sanctum of Poshley Heights. The only way to reach the town is on the famous Excess Express — and the only way to gain tickets is through the mob connections of Don Pianta. The Don is sick with worry over his missing daughter though, and he cannot grant any favors. Mario rounds up the Pianta couple, and Francesca decides that it is time for her and Frankie to run the family business. Don Pianta is pleased, and grants the plumber his request.

Once on the beautiful train, Mario and his team become swept up in mysterious happenings, including thefts and threatening messages. They have the help of Pennington, a penguin detective, and manage to solve the crimes, capturing a fake Zip Toad who was really Doopliss in disguise. On their second day of travel, a stop at Riverside Station is necessary, and Doopliss escapes. What's more, the drawbridge has been lifted, preventing the Excess Express from continuing en route to Poshley Heights. The gang venture through Riverside Station and eventually are able to get to the switch that brings the drawbridge down. They discover that a group of Smorgs are behind it. The next day, a Smorg Miasma attacks the train. Mario and his friends defeat the Smorg, save the passengers, and finally reach Poshley Heights. They venture into Poshley Sanctum, a museum that happens to belong to Pennington. The Shadow Sirens (with new member Doopliss) are inside, and seem to snatch the Garnet Star, on display on a podium in the rear of the museum. However, Pennington reveals that what they stole was a fake. However, he cannot remember where the real Star is. After some exploring, Mario and company reveal a pipe that leads into a painting behind the podium, where the real Garnet Star is found.

The X-Nauts tell Grodus that Mario has six of the seven Crystal Stars. Grodus seems strangely calm about the situation. Meanwhile, TEC tells the Princess the extremely terrifying data he gained from Grodus's data disk: the X-Nauts plan to use her as a sacrifice to the demon behind the Thousand-Year Door. Incensed, TEC prepares to help Peach escape but Grodus enters with two X-Nauts and orders them to initiate the data-wipe procedure. TEC gasps out "I love you" to Peach just before he is shut down.

Later, Bowser learns that one of the Crystal Stars is through a passage in the Rogueport Sewers. He travels through it to reach the Crystal Star, and finally claims the treasure in a workout room. Unfortunately, the "Crystal Star" is the fake Gold Star on Rawk Hawk's belt. The fighter enters the room, and is quite upset about Bowser breaking into his private area, though he ends up being defeated by the Koopa King.

Mario and his team return to Rogueport and receive an e-mail from Peach, but the rest is cut off due to TEC being deleted. Mario and his team stand before the door and present their map to it. The next Star's location is marked on the team's map and they go back to Prof. Frankly for details.

Chapter 7: Mario Shoots the Moon
The last Crystal Star appears on the map on what appears to be The Moon. To reach the Moon, Mario and his companions travel to the Fahr Outpost, which is populated by Bob-ombs, and use a cannon to shoot to the Moon. However, the Mayor tells the group that they must get permission from Goldbob back in Poshley Heights. He, in turn, tells them they must find the cannon's operator, General White. After tracking General White literally all over the map, he is eventually found, and Mario & company then return to get shot to the Moon.

On the Moon, Mario explores, his actions no longer limited by gravity. Eventually, the group discovers the X-Naut Fortress, and must pass several tricky tests and electrical challenges to reach the heart of the lair. Once they arrive, Lord Crump appears, bragging about his latest creation — the Magnus von Grapple 2.0. Mario defeats the villain once more. This releases the Crystal Star, the final stone in the group and last key to the Thousand-Year Door.

Elsewhere, Bowser and Kammy reach Poshley Sanctum, and discover the glass Garnet Star that Pennington placed on the platform. They steal it, but are caught by Pennington. A Paragoomba flies in and alerts Bowser that Mario is heading for the Thousand-Year Door, which contains a great treasure. Bowser announces that he will steal the prize and defeat Mario.

As Mario and his allies prepare to leave, they discover that all of the doors have locked — they are trapped in the X-Naut Fortress. The heroes explore through the lair and discover TEC, who barely survived Grodus's order to purge his databanks. He recognizes Mario and tells him to rescue the Princess, activating an emergency transporter. The transporter places everyone in Rogueport Sewers. Prof. Frankly meets Mario and company there. He urges them to open the Thousand-Year Door and find the Princess as soon as possible.

Chapter 8: The Thousand-Year Door
After Mario has received all seven Crystal Stars, the time has come to open the Thousand-Year Door and enter the Palace of Shadow to rescue Princess Peach from Grodus.

The Palace itself is full of enemies, puzzles, and traps. Mario must use all of his allies' special powers and abilities to venture deeper into the depths of the earth. Eventually, the group discovers a black dragon named Gloomtail, older brother of Hooktail. The black dragon is outraged over his sister's death and challenges Mario and his allies to a battle. Gloomtail is then slain, and he relinquishes a key to the Riddle Tower. After solving the puzzles of the Tower, the group fights the Shadow Sirens once again, and discover that the "Professor Frankly" that told them to open the door was actually Doopliss in disguise. After defeating the Shadow Sirens and Doopliss, Mario reaches the Throne Room, where he finally finds Sir Grodus. He fights him and defeats him. Bowser and Kammy, whom literally "drop in" unexpectedly, also fight Mario. Grodus uses the distraction to rush into the deepest part of the Palace. There, he opens a sealed coffin and frees the Shadow Queen, empress of darkness and the thousand-year-old demon soul mentioned by TEC. Beldam suddenly announces that she orchestrated the plot to free her mistress. The Shadow Queen refuses to be controlled by Grodus, and fries him with a lightning bolt, supposedly killing him. Princess Peach is possessed, transforming into Shadow Peach. The world is covered in darkness, and everyone fears that the apocalypse has arrived.

Mario and his allies fight the possessed Princess, but the Queen eventually decides to fight in her real form. She proves too much for the valiant group. She laughs off their attacks...until a brilliant flash of light emanates from Mario. The Crystal Stars react to the evil of the Queen and fly throughout the world, each returning to where they were found. The friends Mario made on his journey gather around the Stars and send the whole team their thoughts and prayers. Their combined light breaks the Shadow Queen's invulnerability, and even restores the Princess for a few moments, who uses her magic to heal Mario and the entire team. Empowered, the heroes work together to permanently destroy the Shadow Queen, saving the world.

The heroes celebrate their happy ending and Professor Frankly reveals that there really was a treasure behind the Door after all — a Dried Shroom, proof that ancient civilizations a thousand years ago ate Mushrooms. After saying their goodbyes, Mario and Peach leave Rogueport.

Goombella later sends Mario a message, explaining what everyone has done: she works with Professor Frankly, while Koops plans on running for the office of Mayor of Petalburg. Flurrie has returned to the stage and enacts "Paper Mario" as her comeback smash (Doopliss plays the role of Mario). The Yoshi fights in the Glitz Pit as the "Great Gonzales Jr.", while Vivian has forgiven her sisters; the elder two vow to be kinder to her, and make a home in Twilight Town. Admiral Bobbery sails the seas with Cortez, and Ms. Mowz runs her Lovely Howz of Badges. Lord Crump, Grodus and the X-Nauts survived and are spending their time in Poshley Heights. TEC survived as well, and hopes to see the Princess again one day. The adventure ends when the Princess arrives with another treasure map — and the heroes are off again.

Paper Abilities
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door brings up new gameplay elements not present in the original Paper Mario game. Throughout the game, Mario finds four black treasure chests, which give Mario special abilities to use in the overworld. They all base on the Paper element of the game's graphics. With the first ability (called Plane Mode), Mario is able fold himself to a paper airplane at certain spots, allowing him to fly over large gaps. The second ability (called Paper Mode) allows him to turn sideways, making him as thin as paper, so that he can get through very narrow passages. With the third ability (called Tube Mode), Mario can roll himself up, allowing him to roll through low passages. With the fourth ability (called Boat Mode), he can fold himself to a paper ship at certain docks, allowing him to move over water. It is noticeable that, to use Tube Mode, Mario has to activate Paper Mode first, and then roll himself up.

Background
Another element introduced in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the background scenery, which is actually accessible for Mario through certain pipes. Several places which only appear in the background can be visited this way, some of which include Hooktail Castle, the Great Tree, the X-Naut Fortress, and Merlee's house in the Rogueport Sewers. This feature was carried over to the next game in the series, Super Paper Mario.

Intermissions
After each chapter, there is an intermission where the player is able to control Princess Peach, who is held captive in the X-Naut Fortress. The Peach intermission is followed by a Bowser intermission, a new addition in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Bowser usually visits the places Mario has been to one chapter before, and several missions include a side-scrolling platformer level in the style of Super Mario Bros.. In these levels, Bowser has the ability to breathe fire, and by using the only available item, the Meat, is able to radically increase his size, thus crashing everything in his way. While enemies like X-Nauts charge at Bowser, others like Goombas are actually scared by him and turn away when he approaches them. The levels are called 1-X, 2-X and 3-X in reference to the world numbering of Super Mario Bros., while X stands for the number of tries Bowser has used for the level. He has endless lives for the levels. They are set in the three basic terrains of Super Mario Bros.: Overworld, Underwater and Underground/Castle.

Attacking enemies
While Mario and his partners are battling enemies, they can attack enemies with extra power using the Action Command. Stylish Moves are extra commands to please the crowd more and gain more star power.
 * Countdown: Tilt and hold the control stick left, then release when the red light flashes.
 * Tricky Timing: Pressing A just before landing on Mario's opponent.
 * Aiming: Aligning a cursor in the center of the targeting reticule
 * Button Mania: Holding on to or repeatedly tapping a button or input an entire sequence.

Guarding
To perform a guard action command, one must press A or B when Mario's opponent is about to strike him. Guarding reduces the damage he takes from enemy attacks and help the player resist status effects. The player must time it right, though.

Guard: To perform a Guard move, the player must press A to dodge enemy attacks, reducing the damage they do by 1, and also protecting Mario from negative status effects. The player will have a 1/2 second to guard.

Superguard: To perform a Superguard move, the player must press B to dodge enemy attacks, negating the attack completely, damaging their opponent if it is done directly. The player will only have a 1/4 second to superguard, making it more difficult to time than a regular guard.

Star Points
Every time Mario wins a battle, he'll earn Star Points. When Mario's Star Point Level gets up to 100, he'll choose whether to upgrade his Heart Points, Flower Points or Badge Points. Choosing HP and/or FP will raise Mario's HP or FP by 5 and choosing BP will raise Mario's BP by 3. Mario stops levelling up at 99, however it is very hard to reach this level because, starting from level 1, the Star Point Value for every enemy decreases by one with each level up. However, for every single battle, the player will always get at least one Star Point, unlike the first Paper Mario, where the player will never get any more Star Points after level 27.

Shine Sprites
When Mario and co. collect Shine Sprites, Mario can give 3 of them to Merlon and Merlon will power up Mario's partners, increasing their HP and teaching them new moves. Getting the Up Arrow in Hooktail Castle will cause Merlon to remember he has an Ultra Stone which will allow Mario to power up his partners a second time, and Merlon will teach Mario's partners ultra-rank moves.

Star Power and the Audience
The Audience determines how much Energy Mario recovers, it consists of various enemies and allies, sits and cheers as the group attacks. If Mario or his allies use the Appeal action or a Stylish Move, they will recover more Star Energy. The audience is even used by various bosses.Hooktail, Cortez, and the Shadow Queen all use the audience to regain HP.

The Audience occasionally takes "active participation" in the battles; some spectators throw helpful or hurtful items, while others may incapacitate other audience members, making Star Power recovery more difficult.

Bingo!
An icon will appear next to Mario's Star Power Gauge whenever the player successfully uses the Action Command of an attack. If the player has two matching icons and if the player executes an additional Action Command, Mario can take the Bingo wheel for a spin.

Mario's Partners
Throughout the game, Mario, just like the past game, uses partners. His partners have purposes in both the overworld and battle. They can be upgraded by Merlon by giving him 3 Shine Sprites. Also, the partner's move's will be listed; the first two listed are available from start, third is available after first upgrade, fourth from 2nd upgrade.

'''Goombella
A female Goomba who studied at the University of Goom. She is the first character to join Mario after he defeats Lord Crump. She has the same ability to uncover an enemy's stats, much like how Goombario can.


 * Headbonk: Hits enemy twice, 0 FP
 * Tattle: Analyzes enemy and reveals their HP, 0 FP
 * Multibonk: Attacks enemy 1-7 times, 3 FP
 * Rally Wink: Gives Mario a 2nd turn, 4 FP

'''Koops
A timid koopa who lives in Petalburg. To prove to Petalburg he is not a coward, he joins Mario's team to avenge the death of his father, Koopley. He has the same ability Kooper has outside of battle, using his shell toss move to flip switches, grab items and attack enemies.

After defeating Hooktail, he finds out that Koopley isn't dead after all, and is able to give the heroes the Diamond Crystal Star.


 * Shell Toss: Attacks ground-bound enemy, 0 FP
 * Power Shell: Attacks all ground-bound enemies, 3 FP
 * Shell Shield: Calls a shell to protect Mario for a few turns, 4 FP
 * Shell Slam: Attacks all ground-bound enemies and penetrates their Defense, 6 FP

'''Madame Flurrie
She can blow wind at enemies to make them dizzy and blow fake walls away, revealing secret passages. She is an actress, although when Mario meets her, she is on hiatus. She joins Mario after he returns her Necklace that Vivian accidentally picked up.


 * Body Slam: Attacks enemy, 0 FP
 * Gale Force: Blows weak enemies away, 4 FP
 * Lip Lock: Transfers enemy's HP to Flurrie's HP, 3 FP
 * Dodgy Fog: Protects Mario for a few turns, 4 FP

'''Yoshi
This Yoshi is namable after receiving him. The player should press X to ride on his back like most Yoshis and hit A to fly briefly over places that have no solid ground, which is the same ability Parakarry possesses in Paper Mario. That same ability can be used to walk faster than Mario alone, pretty much like Lakilester's ability. Yoshi also can be a different color based on when it was hatched. The player can also name the Yoshi whatever they want.


 * Ground Pound: Attacks one enemy multiple times weakly, 0 FP
 * Gulp: Swallows enemy and shoots it at enemy behind damaging both of them, 4 FP
 * Mini-Egg: Throws an amount of Yoshi Eggs at enemy which may shrink enemy, 3 FP
 * Stampede: Calls herd of Yoshis to attack all enemies, 6 FP

'''Vivian
One of the Shadow Sirens. At first, she worked for Grodus, but joined Mario's team to help Mario get his name, appearance and teammates back, because Mario treated her a lot more nicely than Beldam and/or Marilyn. She can hide Mario from enemy attacks, in which that is the same ability Lady Bow has, but instead of turning Mario and company invisible, she'll pull them into the shadows.


 * Shade Fist: Fire-punches enemy, 0 FP
 * Veil: Hides Mario and her in the shadow's to negate all damage next attack, 1 FP
 * Fiery Jinx: Attacks all enemies with fire penetrating their Defense, 6 FP
 * Infatuate: Blows a kiss to enemies possibly confusing them, 4 FP

'''Admiral Bobbery
A retired admiral who refused to help Mario at Keelhaul Key, but decided to help him after Mario gave him his late wife's letter. After Mario saves him from Cortez's underlings and gives him Chuckola Cola, he joins Mario's team. He has the same ability Bombette has outside of battle: with his bomb attack, he can destroy fake walls, flip switches and attack enemies. However, he can be tossed upwards to walk on ledges.


 * Bomb: Attacks one ground-bound enemy, 0 FP
 * Bomb Squad: Fires three Bob-omb's to explode on the next turn, 3 FP
 * Hold Fast: Damages all enemies that physically attack Bobbery, 4 FP
 * Bob-ombast: Powerfully bombs all enemies, 9 FP

'''Ms. Mowz
A Little Mouser cat burglar/badge hunter and the manager of the Lovely Howz of Badges. Mario and his teammates cross paths with her at Hooktail Castle, the Great Boggly Tree, and the Glitz Pit Storeroom. She joins Mario's team if Mario chooses to solve her trouble at the Trouble Center in Rogueport. To help her, Mario gets the Attack FX B badge in Hooktail's lair and gives it to Ms. Mowz. She can also seek out hidden items and penetrate enemy's defenses like Watt from the first Paper Mario did. She is notably the first partner in the Paper Mario series who does not have to join Mario's party in order for him to complete his quest.


 * Love Slap: Attacks enemy and pierces their defense, 0 FP
 * Kiss Thief: Steals enemies' badges or items, 2 FP
 * Tease: Make's enemies Dizzy, 3 FP
 * Smooch: If succsesful, Mario recovers up to 10 HP, 10 FP

Items
Items are objects that help Mario and his partners on his journey. Most of them change and heal his stats such as Heart Points, Flower Points, Attack, Defense, and Status Ailments, but some damage the enemy and/or give them status ailments. Mario may hold on to 10 items on his body but he can store 31 items at any Item Shop and withdraw them at any time there. The amount of items Mario can hold will be increased with the Special Item Strange Sack. Following is a list of items:

Sweet Treat

 * Crystal Star Required: Magical Map
 * Description: Replenishes up to 7 HP for both party members and 8 FP, as well as curing all status effects.
 * Star Power Needed: 1

Earth Tremor

 * Crystal Star Required: Diamond Star
 * Description: If successful, this power creates an earthquake that can do up to 6 damage against all enemies.
 * Star Power Needed: 2

Clock Out

 * Crystal Star Required: Emerald Star
 * Description: If successful, immobilizes all enemies temporarily.
 * Star Power Needed: 2

Power Lift

 * Crystal Star Required: Gold Star
 * Description: Boosts attack and defense power for a short time for both party members.
 * Star Power Needed: 3

Art Attack

 * Crystal Star Required: Ruby Star
 * Description: Any amount of damage can be done depending on how many times the player encircles around the enemies
 * Star Power Needed: 4

Sweet Feast

 * Crystal Star Required: Sapphire Star
 * Description: Much like Sweet Treat, the player will replenish up to 24 HP for each party member and 24 FP.
 * Star Power Needed: 5

Showstopper

 * Crystal Star Required: Garnet Star
 * Description: If successful, destroys enemies in a single blow. NOTE: Does not work on enemies with more than 12 HP, mini-bosses and bosses.
 * Star Power Needed: 2

Supernova

 * Crystal Star Required: Crystal Star
 * Description: Does up to 15 damage to all enemies, 3 each time the player fills the gauge.
 * Star Power Needed: 6

Badges
Badges are what Mario may need throughout the game. They can be purchased at the Lovely Howz or by Charlieton, traded for Star Pieces by Dazzle, won at the Pianta Parlor or found in one of the places Mario and company visit. The blocks in which badges are found in the field are red in color, unlike normal item blocks which are yellow.

When leveling up, Mario can gain Badge Points (BP) which allow him to use badges he has already found. Some of the badges add new Jump or Hammer moves to Mario's commands during battle and other new abilities.

Badges can also affect Mario and his partners outside of battles. After the battle certain badges can increase the amount of points defeated enemies leave. Enemies might also carry badges in battle, which only Ms. Mowz can steal right away, and there's a likeliness that they might leave them when they're defeated.

Two special badges, the W Emblem and the L Emblem, can change Mario's clothing. With the W Emblem, Mario gets Wario's clothing, with the L Emblem, he gets Luigi's clothing, and with both Emblems combined, he gets Waluigi's clothing.

If multiple copies of the same jump or hammer badge are worn at once, the FP requirements will increase, but so will the attack power.

All badges found in RPG's like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door are listed here in detail.

Bestiary (Tattle Log)
See the Bestiary for a list of all enemies found in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as well as Tattle information provided by Goombella. See the below section for a list of bosses.

Trouble Center Side Quests
In Rogueport there's a "Trouble Center" which offers the citizen's troubles for Mario to solve. An anonymous quest comes from Ms. Mowz and requires Mario to find a badge she is looking for but can not find. Only then she joins Mario's team.

Bosses
Yellow signifies chapter bosses.

The Pit of 100 Trials
The Pit of 100 Trials is an optional challenge. Before or after saving the world, Mario can take on the enemies found in the 100-basement floor area known as the Pit of 100 Trials. The enemies located on levels 50-99 are especially strong. Upon reaching floor 100, Mario gazed up at Bonetail, the long-lost relative of Hooktail and Gloomtail. After defeating Bonetail, Mario receives the Return Postage Badge.

Similarities
There are many similarities between the original Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, including:
 * The opening is identical to that of the previous game, right down to Parakarry delivering a letter from Princess Peach.
 * The first partner of both games is a Goomba that will give Mario hints on both enemies and the area. They both have headbonk, tattle, and multi-bonk as attacks.
 * The second partner of both games is a Koopa Troopa. Both will be able to be shot out to hit switches, etc. Both of them are also able to use Shell Toss and Power Shell in battle.
 * The fourth partner of each game will allow the player to travel across gaps, Parakarry and Yoshi, respectively.
 * Both games have a Bob-omb as a partner, both are able to destroy cracked surfaces, Bombette and Bobbery, respectively.
 * Both games have a partner that allows Mario to become invisible to enemies, Bow and Vivian, respectively.
 * Both games have a partner who is able to uncover hidden items, and whose basic attack pierces through defense.
 * Both games have a partner who has betrayed an enemy to join Mario's party, Lakilester and Vivian, respectively.
 * The main plot point of both games is to find seven stars.
 * In both games the player is able to play as Peach between chapters. The player is required to dress Peach up as an enemy to learn secrets. Also, the player can cook something in both games. In TTYD, Bowser's side-quest is separated from Peach's, as he is not the one who kidnapped her.
 * In the first "Paper Mario," one of the articles that is posted on the back of Toad Town is about a fan of Princess Peach who says he's been cheated when he paid a large amount of coins only to receive three horribly unfocused photos of the princess. In TTYD, when Mario visits Petalburg, he meets a Koopa who is obsessed with Peach, and has numerous posters, etc. of her. This may have been the fan that wrote the complaint in PM.
 * As with the first Paper Mario game, a main antagonist sees Peach disguised as a minion, and remarkes on how she smells "too nice".
 * Mario and Peach contact each other using friendly characters in both games. Twink helped in Paper Mario and TEC in The Thousand-Year Door.
 * Mario must solve a mystery in both games. A Bumptie is Mario's fellow detective in both.
 * In one point of the games, Mario falls for a ploy created by the boss of the level which led him to be confined in a cage. A ? block in Paper Mario, and a fake puni pedestal in The Thousand-Year Door.
 * Chapter 1 in both games features a castle/fortress as the location of the boss.
 * The partner acquired in Chapter 2 in both games required Mario to bring him or her an item.
 * An oversized Clubba is the boss of Chapter 3 in both games, and both have a secret that involves making themselves powerful.
 * In both games, at one point, Mario has to chase the Chapter 3 bosses (Grubba and Tubba's Heart).
 * Moustafa and Flavio both give the player stones needed to reach an ancient, rumored to be haunted, place, and the boss of both places sends threats along the way.
 * Buying a Dried Shroom and another certain item along with it was a secret sign in both games that was required to reach Moustafa and Don Pianta.
 * Chapter 5 takes place on a tropical island with coconuts in both games and both involve an expedition. Also, in both games this is when Mario's oldest partner joins him, and they both have to be rescued from being stuck in a tree before they do so.
 * The Chapter 5 bosses, Lava Piranha and Cortez, are similar as Cortez's spine in his first form and Lava Piranha's stem are in the exact same position, and both of them have multiple forms, each with the same amount of HP.
 * In both games, Princess Peach must make something. Also, in both games, if she makes a mistake in the directions of making it, it will come out wrong (Making a cake for Gourmet Guy and making the invisibility potion)
 * After the battle against Cortez was over, one of the Toad sailors will tell everyone that he feels a "slight wind" coming from the cracked wall, just as Misstar did in the first one. Also, the Bob-omb partner of both games is needed to blow that up. Also, the most frequently fought boss of both games conveniently show up after Chapter 5 is completed.
 * Chapter 6 takes place in a beautiful area and has a boss that can do a very high amount of damage when charged up: 16 for Huff N. Puff, 10 for Smorg. Also, both are blob-shaped and made up of a smaller species. Additionally, Ruff Puffs appear in the sixth chapter of both games.
 * Chapter 7 features a snowy recogion.
 * Chapter 8 includes a battle against Bowser before the final battle. Also, Kammy Koopa is fought in both chapters.
 * The main villain of both games (which have kidnapped Peach) had to be chased through long stairways in the eighth chapter of both games.
 * Mario's final battle is divided into multiple parts. At one point, each boss is invincible and Peach plays an integral role in negating that invincibility.
 * Peach conveniently gets taken away in both games right before Mario and company reach the hideaways of the games' main antagonists.
 * In both games, there is a scene where Mario can turn into 8-bit Mario with Super Mario Bros. music playing.
 * Both games have Merlon standing outside his house, waiting for Mario and his partners to show up, where he'll tell them about a dream that he had, and will tell them to let him know if they find out the meaning of it.
 * Both games have a spike room where Bow's Outta Sight or Vivian's Veil must be used, and the position of the paths across the spikes are identical.
 * Both games feature a boss who poses a threat by eating people (Tubba Blubba and Hooktail), and both of these bosses have a secret weakness.
 * Both of the ghost bosses (Tutankoopa and Cortez) try to intimidate Mario by uttering threats as he progresses through the level.
 * Both games include a test that Princess Peach has to take and has information that will help Mario in the future.
 * Both games end with a parade led by Luigi (though in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door it's not really a parade, and is mainly a line of all the character's shadows used as a way to show everyone).

References to Other Games

 * Super Mario Bros.: At the X-Naut Fortress in the Changing Room, Mario and Co. can change into an 8-bit sprite of themselves, along with the Super Mario Bros. music playing in the background. Hamma also mentioned that his grandfather was at World 7-1. Bowser's gameplay is also a direct parody of this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2: The appearance of Bob-ombs and Shyguys, which originated from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Whenever Jolene (while under the alias of "X") sent Mario an e-mail, the Ice Land map screen theme would play. This game also included Boomerang Bros., Fire Bros., and Boos, which originated from this game. Bowser's theme song is a remix of the background music that plays in castle levels.
 * Super Mario World: Whenever Peach sends Mario an e-mail, the title screen theme would play. Whenever Mario gets an e-mail from other people, part of the epilogue theme (from when a Koopaling castle is beaten) will play.
 * Super Mario 64: In the first Princess Peach interlude, Peach is singing the Inside the Castle Walls theme from this game when she is in the shower.
 * Paper Mario: Parakarry makes a brief cameo at the beginning of the game, and delivers a letter to Mario from Peach, just like the previous game. Lady Bow also makes a cameo appearance, and makes a direct reference to Boo's Mansion, as well as the adventure they had. There is also a random Toad at the Excess Express (after Chapter 6 is completed) that will ask Mario a quiz question, ("What did Bowser steal in the first Paper Mario?"), and the answer is, "Star Rod". The video game-obsessed Toad kid from Petalburg also mentions that he's been playing the game, describing Bow as the "cutest Boo of ALL TIME!!!" Jr. Troopa also appears in the background in the picture that Zip Toad attached to his e-mail. Gulpits are also given a reference when Grubba exclaims, "GREAT-GALLOPIN' GULPITS!". A Ratooey at Rogueport Harbor who went on a quest for oil in Dry Dry Desert can tell Mario about this adventures at the end of the game. Every part is a chapter of Paper Mario game.
 * Fire Emblem: The video game-obsessed Toad in Petalburg mentions that he's been playing this game.
 * Mario Kart: During one of Luigi's stories, he tells Mario he had to sign up for a Kart race, and mentions he had driven karts before, giving reference to the Mario Kart series
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Chuckola Cola is an item in this game, referring to the game it has been appeared first. Flavio resembles the Beanbean Kingdom residents, and also carried a bottle of Chuckola Cola with him. Also, two characters named Podley and Podler, are from the Beanish species. Also, the "Super-Guarding" ability was likely inspired by the ability to counter enemies' attacks in Superstar Saga.
 * Luigi's Mansion : Occasionally, Luigi will have the Poltergust 3000 on his back when in the audience. This does not effect anything, though.
 * Super Paper Mario: This game is aluded to by a video game-obsessed Toad in Petalburg. At the end of the game, he'll state that he's been playing "the new Paper Mario game", and that it will be pleasing to fans of Luigi, which hints that the game was already in production and/or planning stages at the time Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was in development.
 * The Legend of Zelda: In TEC's question and answer test with Peach, he asks her "How do you seal the Demon?", and a selectable answer is "A Legendary Sword." This is referring to the Master Sword that Link uses to seal Ganondorf.
 * Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire: Koops's town, Petalburg, is also the name of a town in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. The Sun Stone and Moon Stone found in that chapter are also items in the Pokemon games.

References in Later Games

 * Super Paper Mario: All seven partners from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door make cameo appearances as Catch Cards that are won by completing the Duel of 100 at Sammer's Kingdom. Francis also has plush toys of the Yoshi (in all colors), Vivian, Bobbery, and Pennington, along with a poster of Petuni. In Francis' list of things to buy, Rawk Hawk was given a reference when he stated that he wants a DVD called, "From Bedrawk: The Rawk Hawk Story". Francis also stated that he wants a Ms. Mowz doll with "real-smooching action", along with a Magnus von Grapple action figure. Francis also happens to watch "Starship X-Naut" and "The Grodus Chronicles". Also, Fracktail and Wracktail, themselves are homages to Hooktail and Bonetail. Additonally, there is also a Sammer Guy who calls himself "Laughing X-Naut". Lastly, Slim's ability to make Mario, Peach, Bowser, or Luigi thin is a reference to the second curse in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Goombella, Yoshi, Vivian, and Rawk Hawk appear as Stickers. Goombella also has her own trophy. Also, the words, "CRUMP" and "RAWK" appear in the random name selection, which are possible references to Lord Crump and Rawk Hawk.

Trivia

 * All of the partners from the first Paper Mario were originally going to make cameo appearances in this game, but were scrapped from the final product for unknown reasons. However, Parakarry and Lady Bow were the only ones who made the cut.
 * During the cutscene that took place after the Grodus battle in Chapter 8, there is a slight error in the game script. When Grodus attempts to destroy Mario and company by using Peach as a shield, Mario's current partner will ask what they should do, and if the "Don't attack." option is chosen, then Grodus will question them, stating: "WORM! You dare defy me? Do you not care for the life of your princess?" when that should have happened if the "Attack." option was chosen instead, and vice versa. However, he was most likely bluffing about this, as he needed the princess as a vessel for the Shadow Queen.
 * The data disk that Princess Peach obtained from Grodus' room resembles the disks that are used for the Famicom Disk System. Also, the video that's displayed on Grodus' computer happens to be the BIOS screen for that system.
 * In Chapter 5, after Flavio temporarily joins the party, if the player has Yoshi Kid as their ally, then this will be the only time in the game where Yoshi Kid carries two people on his back instead of just Mario.
 * Chapter 5 is a reference the the story "Three Skeleton Key".
 * The intro story is very similar to the intro story of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. But, instead of a city sinking, a whole kingdom sinks.