Mystery Box (item)

A Mystery Box is an item found in Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Super Paper Mario.

Paper Mario
The first appearance of the Mystery Box in Paper Mario goes under the name Mystery?. When used in battle, a roulette will appear, containing the following items, that will be used right after the roulette stops on an item:
 * Mushroom
 * Super Shroom
 * Fire Flower
 * Stone Cap
 * Dizzy Dial
 * Thunder Rage
 * A Pebble that hurts Mario with 1 HP

These items can also be used for cooking, but the player must be aware that the item used in the recipe will be random, so the item may generate a Mistake if the player is unlucky.

Such items are on sale at Boo's Shop and the Bowser's Castle shop. They can also be found in a hidden block in the Shy Guy playground of Shy Guy's Toy Box, in a hidden block near the shores of Lavalava Island, and in the lava area of Bowser's Castle.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mystery is sold for three coins at the Sales Stall and the Pungent's Shop. When used in battle, a Mystery makes a completely random item appear that could be anything from a Poison Shroom to an Ultra Shroom to a Shooting Star. If it is cooked with a Point Swap, it makes any recipe. One Mystery can also be found in a bush in near the bridge in Petal Meadows.

Super Paper Mario
Mystery Boxes appear under their current name in Super Paper Mario. When cooked, the outcome can be random, or more commonly, a Mistake. However, the set recipe is a Miracle Dinner. The Mystery Box can be bought in Flipside Arcade for five Flipside Tokens, at the Downtown of Crag for three coins, or carried by a Lakitu. Similar to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, a random item will appear which can be any item from a Catch Card to a Thunder Rage.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
The Mystery Box was originally set to re-appear in Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the Nintendo 3DS, as seen in early artwork. However, this item was removed for unknown reasons.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
While Mystery Boxes do not appear in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, another item known as a Secret Box with similar effects appears. Secret Boxes mimic a random badge effect, unlike Mystery Boxes, which mimic a random item.