Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario is a platformer role-playing game released in 2007 for the Wii. Unlike the other Paper Mario games, Super Paper Mario is a platformer and does not use a turn-based battle system, but rather incorporates RPG elements with platforming. The game fuses elements of 2D and 3D gameplay together, shifting back and forth between dimensions, once being described as a "2.5D" sidescroller by Nintendo Power magazine. In addition to the regular Paper Mario aesthetics, the game also uses many novel character, enemy, and background designs, including a fully pixelated world and the use of sprites from the classic Super Mario Bros. for certain techniques.

The story focuses on Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, and Luigi journeying across various dimensions to stop a villain named Count Bleck from destroying all of existence. In addition to the four playable characters are fairy-like Pixls that grant the main party members various extra abilities, such as hammering objects or calling up a temporary shield. As the players defeat enemies, they accumulate points and level up, making their own attacks stronger. While the plot is considered dark by Mario standards, as in earlier Paper Mario titles, humorous dialogue and references to other games, nerd culture, popular culture, and even mythology abound.

The game was originally planned for a 2006 release on the Nintendo GameCube, but was moved to the newer Wii console. Motion controls were added to certain gameplay features, pushing the release date back to April 2007 for North America and Japan, and September of that year for Europe and Australia. The game was rereleased for the Wii U eShop in 2016.

Story
The story opens with Mario and Luigi being informed by Toad about Princess Peach's latest kidnapping. Believing Bowser to be the culprit once again, the brothers immediately head off to his castle, only to find him preparing to attack. A villain named Count Bleck then appears with his assistant, Nastasia and Princess Peach, who is his prisoner. He announces his plans to use Peach "to destroy all worlds", renders Mario unconscious with his dark powers, and kidnaps Bowser as well, with Luigi and the Koopa Troop being sucked away too.

Elsewhere, Peach regains consciousness to find that she and Bowser are dressed in wedding outfits and standing at an altar, with Count Bleck officiating. Nastasia uses mind control powers to force Peach to say "I do", and the marriage between her and Bowser calls forth the Chaos Heart. Luigi awakens in the Koopa crowd watching the ceremony and attempts to intervene, but he is too late as Bleck uses the Chaos Heart to open a dimensional rift known as The Void, fulfilling a prophecy he read in an ancient book known as the Dark Prognosticus, in which all worlds are destroyed.

Back at Bowser's Castle, Mario is awakened by a Pixl named Tippi, who brings him to the town of Flipside and introduces him to Merlon. He owns the benevolent counterpart of Bleck's book, the Light Prognosticus, which indicates that a hero fitting Mario's description can stop the Void, which is visible in the sky above Flipside and slowly growing. Merlon gives Mario the first of eight Pure Hearts that he will need to counteract the Chaos Heart. If Mario refuses, he'll get a Game Over. Upon receiving the first Pure Heart, Mario has to place it into the first Heart Pillar to cause a door to appear on the top of Flipside Tower leading straight to Lineland, where the next Pure Heart is. Merlon also tells Mario that he must also learn the "dimensional technique" from his friend Bestovius there in order to find the rest of the Pure Hearts.

Meanwhile, in Castle Bleck, the Count and Nastasia meet with the other three minions, Dimentio, O'Chunks, and the shape-shifting Mimi. Count Bleck promises to replace the destroyed worlds with a perfect world where all his minions' dreams will come true, and when Nastasia mentions that the hero of prophecy may be active, O'Chunks volunteers to take care of him, with Dimentio tagging along to watch the show.

Chapter 1: Lineland
In Lineland, Mario first seeks out Bestovius and gains the ability to flip into the third dimension, allowing him to progress through the world. After climbing Mount Lineland, Mario and Tippi reach Yold Town, where they find another Pixl named Thoreau, who assists them as they cross the puzzle-filled Yold Desert and are forced to fight O'Chunks before reaching Yold Ruins. The next Pure Heart is guarded by the robotic dragon, Fracktail, but while he recognizes Mario as the legendary hero, before he can let the plumber pass, Dimentio appears and corrupts the dragon's mind, causing him to attack. Mario is forced to defeat him before proceeding inside the sanctum of the ruins, where he is given a Pure Heart by Merlumina, one of the ancients who wrote the Light Prognosticus and lingered after death to await the hero.

Meanwhile, O'Chunks reports back to Castle Bleck in shame, so the Count sends Mimi to deal with the hero, while Nastasia goes to look for any "goons" in the castle who still are not under the Bleck's control.
 * Interlude

Soon after, Peach (now in her usual pink dress) wakes up in Castle Bleck and joins two Koopas in search of an exit, but they are soon cornered by Nastasia, who brainwashes Bowser's minions. Peach, however, is teleported away before she can be hypnotized.

Far away, Mario returns to Flipside to bring the Pure Heart to Merlon, and the group learns from a panicking citizen that a girl has fallen from the sky. They then go to investigate, and discover that the girl is Peach, whom they revive with Spicy Soup. Feeling responsible for the opening of the Void, Peach insists on joining Mario in his quest and helps him reach the next Heart Pillar, and Merlon sends them through the new orange door to the next world; Gloam Valley.

Chapter 2: Gloam Valley
Mario and Peach cross Gloam Valley to reach Merlee's Mansion, meeting an explosive Pixl named Boomer on the way. At the mansion, Mimi is waiting in disguise as Merlee's maid and uses various tricks and traps to try and stop Mario and Peach from getting deeper into the building, including forcing them to work in the mansion's power plant to work off a phony debt she levied on them for the apparent breaking of a vase. With help from another new Pixl, Slim, the heroes outwit Mimi and enter the mansion's basement, where a spectral Merlee appears and warns them to be careful as they search for her. Mimi shape-shifts into Merlee to try and trick Mario and Peach once more but when the truth is discovered she reverts to her true spider-like form and chases them around the basement as they seek out the real Merlee, who had hidden in a bathroom. After more attempted trickery, Mimi fights the heroes, but Merlee weakens her with magical chanting and she is defeated and forced to flee. Merlee then gives the third Pure Heart to Mario and Peach and informs them that there are a total of four heroes needed to stop the Void.

With Mimi defeated, Count Bleck decides to send Dimentio to go after the hero of prophecy, while Nastasia resumes her hunt for non-hypnotized stragglers around the castle.
 * Interlude

Meanwhile, Luigi wakes up and is manipulated by two Goombas into helping them find a way out, but they run into Nastasia. One of the Goombas is hypnotized and the other Goomba joins Nastasia's side, and they restrain Luigi so that Nastasia can brainwash him as well.

The Void grows over Flipside when Mario, Peach, and their Pixl friends return. After finding the third Heart Pillar, a yellow door to The Bitlands appears on the tower.

Chapter 3: The Bitlands
Upon the heroes' arrival in the pixelated Bitlands, Tippi is kidnapped by the geeky, butterfly-collecting chameleon, Francis. Another Pixl named Barry witnessed the scene from behind a bush and tells the heroes how to reach Fort Francis. After passing through an underground area just like World 1-2 in Super Mario Bros., Mario and Peach come across some castles occupied by Koopas, Hammer Bros., Bullet Bills and Bowser himself, who proceeds to lose a one-on-one fight with Mario. Bowser explains that he was locked up in Bleck's Castle and does not know how he appeared in the Bitlands, and with some persuasion, agrees to join Peach and Mario on their journey. The three swim across The Tile Pool, where they meet a new Pixl, Thudley, and use him to defeat a monstrous Big Blooper. Beyond the pool, the heroes climb the Dotwood Tree in order to use the winds at the top to float over a gorge and reach Fort Francis. Along the way, they battle Dimentio, who brushes off his defeat as a mere amusement, and was in fact using it to gauge the heroes' strength in order to ensure they can defeat Count Bleck when the time comes. Unaware of Dimentio's plotting, Mario, Peach and Bowser continue on to Fort Francis, where they find another trapped Pixl named Carrie and navigate their way through a sea of puzzles, Meowmaid robots and nerdy memorabilia to get to Francis, who immediately develops a crush on Peach and attempts to flirt with her using an electronic chat interface Swoon.exe. She rebuffs him and he is defeated in battle, and the surge of trust and happiness from the newly-freed Tippi calls forth the next Pure Heart from the castle itself, which Merlon later explains used to belong to the Tribe of Ancients.

Back at Castle Bleck, Dimentio muses that the heroes might be able to defy the prophecy, but Bleck is confident in his plan and calls for an unnamed new minion to take care of his foes. Nastasia lingers after the other minions leave and tries to get Bleck to reconsider, but while he will not give up after coming as far as he has, he kindly gives her a chance to leave with his blessing, which she declines out of loyalty and love for Bleck. Unbeknownst to both of them, Dimentio eavesdropped on the entire exchange, but decides not to worry about it, since he has his own "projects" to attend to.
 * Interlude

When the heroes return to Flipside, Merlon explains about the castle and decides that Bowser is the third hero of the prophecy. After returning to the Bitlands to collect Barry, who is impressed that they managed to save Tippi, the heroes open a new green door and continue on their quest. Barry is the first optional Pixl.

Chapter 4: Outer Space
The realm beyond the green door turns out to be Outer Space, and the heroes are forced to return immediately to Flipside and procure a Goldfish Bowl to use as a helmet in order to breathe in space. They soon meet an alien named Squirps who serves them as both a guide and a living ray gun for attacking enemies. They made a pit stop on Planet Blobule so that Squirps could go to the bathroom, but the outhouse is occupied by the Pixl Fleep, who does not exit until the heroes find him some makeshift toilet paper. He then joins them and they all proceed through the Outer Limits to the warped, maze-like Whoa Zone. Here they are confronted by another one of Bleck's minions, Mr. L, who they think they know. They defeat him, and defeat him again in space using Squirps' lasers when he summons his massive Brobot robot for a rematch. Squirps then brings the gang to the Pure Heart and a statue of his mother, where he remains behind as they return to Flipside.

Back at Castle Bleck, Nastasia introduces Mr. L to the other minions and after he leaves, Bleck identifies him as the "man in green" that is destined to bring destruction to all, although the other minions are unenthusiastic about the newcomer. After they leave too, Nastasia voices her concerns that the heroes will come for Bleck and once again appeals to him to call off the plan. She reasons that he used to cherish the world and muses that if she had been "that girl", things would be different, but Bleck says the girl could not be replaced, especially by Nastasia, and leaves.
 * Interlude

Upon returning to Flipside, Tippi faints and is left at Merlon's as the group finds their way across a three-dimensional bridge to Flopside, the mirror counterpart to Flipside. They find the next Heart Pillar and meet Merlon's counterpart, Nolrem, before returning to Flipside, collecting Tippi, and entering the next world.

Chapter 5: Land of the Cragnons
The heroes drop into Downtown of Crag and are tasked with saving Cragnon citizens who had been kidnapped by Floro Sapiens. They fight O'Chunks again, but even with Dimentio's help, he is defeated. The heroes then collect another Pixl, Cudge, and enter the Floro Caverns, where they meet up with the famous Cragnon journalist, Flint Cragley and his crew, and discover that the Floro Sapiens had been using Floro Sprouts to brainwash their captured Cragnons into doing manual labor for them. They meet yet another Pixl, Dottie, and fight O'Chunks once again, although this time he has been dumbed-down and powered-up by Dimentio through the use of a Floro Sprout. Upon O'Chunks' defeat, the Floro Sprout falls off dead, and the heroes use it to trick the Floro Sapiens into letting them gain access to their leader, King Croacus IV. They battle and defeat him too, and only then learn that pollution caused by the Cragnons had driven him mad and led to the kidnappings. Flint Cragley vows to spread the word and make his fellow Cragnons curtail their pollution in a first step towards peace between the two nations, and the three heroes are given the Pure Heart that had been in King Croacus' possession.

Back at Castle Bleck, Nastasia punishes O'Chunks for his repeated failures while Mimi complains about being bored and Mr. L picks fights with the others. Dimentio appears and quietly coaxes Mimi and Mr. L to attack the heroes, and they steal away from the castle.
 * Interlude

Meanwhile, the heroes uses their two new Pixls to unlock the next door to the next world, Sammer's Kingdom, and are informed by Nolrem that the Void will destroy all soon.

Chapter 6: Sammer's Kingdom
In the Sammer's Kingdom, the Void is almost at full size. After defeating the first Sammer Guy, King Sammer arrives with 99 more combatants and explains that the heroes have to defeat all of them to get the next Pure Heart, as per the laws of the land. After the heroes defeat twenty Sammer Guys, Count Bleck himself appears to inform them that Sammer's Kingdom is about to be destroyed, but when Tippi confronts him, he beats a hasty withdrawal. The next five Sammer Guys recognize the direness of the situation and let the heroes pass for free, at which point the King returns and appears to present them with the Pure Heart, but it is just a bomb in a treasure chest, and the King turns out to be Mimi in disguise. She fights them with a barrage of rubees and is defeated, but she had only intended to stall the heroes. They hurry, but are unable to get farther than the 30th gate before the world is demolished and they are forced to flee back to Flipside. The door to the Sammer Kingdom remains so they go through, but all they find is an endless expanse of whiteness, and a deadened Pure Heart, now turned to stone. Mr. L appears with Brobot L-type to try to stop the heroes from getting the dead Pure Heart, but loses the fight and the Heart.

After Mario, Peach and Bowser leave with the stone-like Pure Heart, Dimentio shows up and appears to destroy Mr. L.
 * Interlude

Meanwhile, at Castle Bleck, Nastasia reports to Bleck about Mimi and Mr. L's disobedient hero-fighting and leaves Bleck to his ponderings about whether Tippi the Pixl was really Timpani, although he pushes the thought aside and reaffirms to himself that no one can stop the prophecy now anyway.

Back at Flipside, the heroes are despondent over the now-useless Pure Heart, when Dimentio shows up at Merlon's house and before anyone can stop him, he appears to destroy Mario, Peach and Bowser just as he had dispatched Mr. L. Mario wakes up to find himself alone in The Underwhere, the video-game Underworld. He wanders around the area, breezily meeting Luvbi before finding his way to her mother, Queen Jaydes, the queen of the underworld. She tasks him with collecting Luvbi for her, and in return, she agrees to revive the Pure Heart. Along the way back to Luvbi, Mario tracks down Luigi, who denies that he knows how he was sent to The Underwhere. After Luvbi is back with her mom and the Pure Heart is restored, Jaydes revives Mario and Luigi, sending them back to Flipside, where they meet up with Tippi again and open the next door.

Chapter 7: The Underwhere
The door takes them right back to The Underwhere, where Jaydes gives them a new task of escorting Luvbi to The Overthere, where Luvbi's father Grambi lives. They make their way past Underwhere Road, where they find Bowser, get past three Door Guardians (Dorguys the First, Second, and Third), and fight the three-headed Underchomp. They then ascend the Overthere Stair, finding Peach en-route, once more in need of revival, although this time it is because she took bite of a forbidden Golden Apple, and must eat another apple to recover. When they reach The Overthere, they find it already overrun with evil Skellobits, while their leader, Bonechill, had already frozen Grambi as part of his bid to take over The Overthere. He reveals that Luvbi is the final Pure Heart, having been given Nimbi form by Grambi, and intends to use her for his evil purposes, but the four heroes defeat him and his skeleton army falls to the Nimbis. After a fierce argument with her parents and a final, tearful goodbye, Luvbi transforms back to her Pure Heart form and is taken back to Flipside by Mario and the gang.

Back at Castle Bleck, Dimentio lets the others know that the heroes are alive and the other minions scramble to get ready to fight them when they come to the castle. Before Dimentio leaves, he then asks Bleck if the name "Blumiere" rings a bell, saying Mario's Pixl mentioned the name. Nastasia once more tries to get Bleck to call off the prophecy, calling him Blumiere, but he denies his old name and identity and refuses to back down.
 * Interlude

Chapter 8: Castle Bleck
After the heroes insert the final Pure Heart into the final Heart Pillar, the final door to Castle Bleck appears on Flopside Tower and Merlon and Nolrem see them off. The castle is large and filled with enemies, and the heroes are soon confronted by O'Chunks, whom Bowser battles and defeats on his own. After the fight, the roof collapses, but O'Chunks catches it and holds it aloft to let his worthy opponents pass. Bowser also stays behind, and after Mario, Luigi and Peach exit the room, they hear a crash and find that the door will not open up again.

Now one hero short, they carry on and are confronted by Mimi in the disguises of Merlon and Merlee, trying in vain to pry information on their weaknesses from them. She and Peach get in an argument and fight, with Mimi once more taking her "true" spider form, but still being defeated. The heroes turn to go, but Peach lingers to try and talk Mimi into leaving too; the floor then crumbles beneath the girl but Peach dives forward and tries to save her, only to fall in herself.

Mario, Luigi and Tippi carry on, coming up against Dimentio, who forces them to chase him through portals to the various other worlds, before ending up back in the castle. Dimentio then tells them that he had actually been helping them all along, such as by saving Peach from Nastasia and by sending everyone to The Underwhere to undo Luigi's brainwashing and get the Pure Heart fixed. He explains that he wanted the four heroes to unite and defeat Bleck, claiming that the Count had no intention of creating a new world once the old one was destroyed, but that he didn't have enough strength to stop him on his own. Tippi warns Mario and Luigi not to accept Dimentio's offer of an alliance, and when rejected, he proceeds to goad Luigi into a one-on-one fight. (If the player chooses to ally, then Dimentio plants Floro Sprouts on Mario and Luigi's heads, causing a Game Over.) Mario, Tippi and the Pixls go on ahead while Luigi remains behind and defeats Dimentio, who responds by trapping them both in a force field in order to destroy himself and Luigi, rather than letting Bleck get his hands on the "man in green" from the prophecy.

Mario and Tippi hear the blast and fear the worst, but know they have no choice but to continue to the castle's inner sanctum, where they are greeted by Bleck and Nastasia. Tippi and Bleck acknowledge each other as the star-crossed lovers Timpani and Blumiere, but Bleck still holds fast to his plan to destroy all the worlds and Tippi knows she and Mario have no choice, but to defeat him. Bleck sends Nastasia away and Mario tries to fight him, but Bleck is completely shielded by the Chaos Heart. Fortunately, Bowser (who fell through the floor before the ceiling collapsed), Peach (who landed on Bowser), and Luigi (who was simply found unconscious by Peach and cannot remember what happened) arrive to help Mario, with the uniting of the four heroes summoning the Pure Hearts and shattering Bleck's shield and leading to his defeat in the subsequent battle. As Bleck pleads for death and Tippi pleads for Bleck to live, Dimentio emerges and tries to finish off the Count, but Nastasia dives in front of the blast to shield him.

Knowing it does not really matter if the Count is alive or dead, Dimentio simply takes control of the Chaos Heart himself, thanking the heroes for using their Pure Hearts to defeat Bleck and pave the way for his own evil plan. He activates a Floro Sprout he had implanted in Luigi's head earlier and turns him back into Mr. L, before fusing him and the Chaos Heart together into the monstrous Super Dimentio. After sending Bleck, Tippi, and Nastasia away to deal with later, he adds himself to Super Dimentio and attacks the remaining heroes, who are unable to damage their new foe. All hope seems lost until O'Chunks and Mimi rejoin Bleck and help Tippi convince him to not give up, with the love and hope shared between them all conjuring up a new set of Pure Hearts, which Tippi brings to the heroes. Breaking through Super Dimentio's defenses, they defeat the enemy, but while Luigi is released unharmed, Dimentio leaves a portion of his power behind to continue controlling the Chaos Heart fuelling the Void. Bleck quickly brings the group to the altar from the start of the story and he and Tippi renew their vows of love and commitment to each other, creating another set of Pure Hearts which cancel out the Chaos Heart, make the Void disappear and restore all the destruction it had caused.

The four heroes and Bleck's minions, including Nastasia, all awaken on Flipside Tower and are greeted by Merlon, who tells them the world is saved and invites them to a celebratory dinner. They wonder what happened to Bleck and Tippi, but believe them to be alive, and at the end of the credits, two distant figures, implied to be Timpani and Blumiere, are seen on top of a tranquil grassy hill.

Playable characters
The player controls the four Heroes of Light in-game. They can be switched to at any time via the +  menu. The player begins with only Mario, recruiting the other heroes as the game progresses and even losing the other characters occasionally.

Pixls
Pixls are new creatures in the game that give Mario and crew new abilities. There are thirteen in total, four are optional. However, only twelve can be carried, since Tiptron is only available after Tippi disappears. They replace the partners from the previous Paper Mario games, and set the record for the most allies in the series. Tippi (Tiptron after completion of the game) is always active and thus the player will always have two active Pixls (except at certain points). All Pixl abilities except Tippi's are activated using the button.

Catch Cards
Catch Cards are collectible items that can be purchased at the card shops Catch a Dream and Fondest Hopes, located on floor 1 of Flipside and Flopside respectively. For each Caught Card of an enemy, the damage the player inflicts on that enemy increases. Empty Catch Cards can also be purchased and used to trap the nearest enemy on-screen in the Catch Card, effectively turning it into a Caught Card of that enemy. Caught Cards offer information about the character on the card, such as their maximum attack and HP (health points).

Recipes
At Saffron's and Dyllis' kitchens, Sweet Smiles and Hot Fraun, located on floor 1 of Flipside and Flopside respectively, the player can give them ingredients to create special meals. Saffron cooks only one ingredient, while Dyllis mixes two ingredients. Usually, items heal more when cooked, though in some cases, their effect completely changes. The Dining Specializer shows the player different recipes, the number of which can be increased by inserting Cooking Disks into the Dining Specializer. In total, 96 different recipes can cooked by Saffron and Dyllis.

Treasure maps
Once the player can access B1 in Flopside, they can find Flamm, who sells treasure maps. They can then be viewed in the menu, and they require the player to travel to designated spots across the different accessible dimensions. Treasures are marked with a red "X" on the map, and the player needs to use the Pixl Fleep to flip the spot marked with the red "X".

Shops
Spread throughout the dimensions are numerous shops, most of them being run by Howzit. Some shops are located in tiny houses, called "Itty Bits". Here, the player can purchase items for coins, sell items, store items, pick up stored items, and earn "Shop Points", which can be obtained every time an item is purchased. After reaching certain milestones with the Shop Points, the player is gifted with special items, reaching from a Cake Mix to a Catch Card of the special rarity class.

Audience


The audience is a group of generic creatures who will appear whenever Mario, Peach, Bowser, or Luigi attacks an enemy and does a stylish move, which is done by shaking the Wii Remote when stomping on an enemy. The audience in this game consists of Toads, Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Shy Guys, only a handful of species from the previous game. They appear on the sides of the screen and say "Nice", "Good", "Great", "Wonderful", and "Excellent". This approval of the Crowd gives the player a higher score than if they had just jumped on the enemy. By doing this, the player can get more points faster.

Wii Remote, sideways

 * See controls
 * Space-swim; move on climbable objects; walk around (in 3D); enter door
 * Walk around (in 2D)
 * Duck; enter Warp Pipe; crouch before Super Jump (as Luigi); breathe fire (as Bowser)
 * Talk to person
 * Flip to 3D (as Mario)
 * Jump; swim upwards
 * Use Pixl
 * + : Change character, swap Pixl, or use item
 * Pause

Bosses
Bold text indicates a chapter boss.

Duel of 100
After completion of the game, the player may return to Sammer's Kingdom to fully complete the Duel of 100 by defeating all 100 Sammer Guys. After the duel, King Sammer will award the player with Catch Cards of the partners from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Pits of 100 Trials
The pits of 100 Trials are found in the outskirts of Flipside and Flopside, respectively. The pits each contain 100 rooms, each containing several enemies with one holding the key to the next room. The 100th room of the Flipside Pit contains Wracktail. The Flopside Pit is similar to the first, but with more powerful dark versions of enemies. It can only be accessed after the Flipside Pit is cleared and must be completed twice to battle the boss, Shadoo. The prize for completing the Flipside Pit is the Pixl Dashell, while the Flopside Pit awards cards of the playable characters and their dark versions.

The Flipside Arcade
The Flipside Arcade is found in a beveragarium in Flipside. There, the player may play four minigames, one of which is unlocked via the Golden Card.


 * Forget Me Not - A card matching game with familiar characters from the game. Missing three times in one round is a game over.
 * Mansion Patrol - A shooting game that involves the character shooting Boos to get points. This game marks one of the only appearances of Toads in the entire game, other than at the start of the game, where Toad himself appears.
 * Tilt Island - The player uses the Wii Remote to tilt a small "island" of sorts while collecting food items and dodging enemies. The more items collected, the higher the player's score is.
 * Hammer Whacker (Unlockable with Golden Card) -The player holds a large hammer and whacks giant shells back at the Koopa Striker, who hits the shells towards the player.

Piccolo
Piccolo is an optional Pixl that can be found in a locked house in Flopside. A series of trade quests must be finished in order to obtain the key. The sidequest is activated by talking to Merlee in Flopside from behind the crystal ball.

Development
After wrapping up development of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, director Ryota Kawade wanted to make "other type of games" using the Paper Mario series. Kawade brainstormed many ideas for a new Paper Mario game that would retain the series' humor, puzzles and leveling system while featuring a new twist, eventually settling on the concept of switching between 2D and 3D (an idea which came to him during a train ride, where Kawade was thinking about the Bowser platforming segments in The Thousand Year Door while looking at the other end of the train ). The idea was presented to Nintendo, which suggested that an action-adventure game would best demonstrate the concept.

The developers and Nintendo considered that retaining the leveling system was important, as it would allow less dedicated players to still enjoy the game and make it stand out from traditional Mario games. The graphics and character design were deliberately designed to be surreal and unusual to invoke the idea of "a Mario world that's not really a Mario world" and because the idea "to show something that the player has never seen before" was considered a pillar of Paper Mario.

When asked by Nintendo Power if the next Paper Mario would return to the series' RPG roots, Kawade claimed to be uncertain if they would continue on Super Paper Mario's concept, return to the gameplay style of the previous games, or be a completely different type of game, but he concluded that "we want a challenge and to take on new things". Producer Kensuke Tanabe similarly stated that he would "look for a new and different style".

Similarities to the previous Paper Mario games
As with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, this game contains many similarities and reused elements from the previous two games:
 * All three intros begin at the Mario brothers' house.
 * All three games feature interludes where the player have to maneuver Peach through the enemy base.
 * Peach plays an integral role in each of the first three games. In the first, she is captured and helps Mario on his quest through Twink. In the second, Peach is captured and is used as a vessel for the Shadow Queen. In this game, she is a main playable character and one of the Heroes of Light.
 * All three games allow the player to play as Peach at some point. In Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Peach is playable in the intermissions. In this game, Peach is a main playable character.
 * Similarly, both Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and this game allow the player to play as Bowser. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bowser is playable in the intermissions. In this game, Bowser is a main playable character. Also, his combat style is very similar to the platformer levels during his intermissions in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
 * All three games have a small, peaceful town within Chapter 1, as well as a fortress/dungeon-like area as the final area of the chapter. (This is also seen in the game's successors' first worlds.) Also, like in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, a large dragon is a boss that is fought at the end.
 * A red palm tree is seen in the desert, just as it was in the first Paper Mario. As with that one, something had to be done near it in order to trigger something.
 * Like Paper Mario this game has a chapter that involves climbing a mountain and crossing a desert to reach a ruin.
 * Merlon, Merlee, and Merluvlee reappear in this game.
 * As with Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Super Paper Mario also features a partner that is used to blow up cracks in walls and reveal hidden areas.
 * This game also contains a partner with the power to evade enemy attacks, as well as getting past floors with rising spikes.
 * Super Paper Mario also contains a partner that can get Mario over spikes and other dangerous terrain.
 * All three games include a reptile as a Chapter 3 boss.
 * In both Paper Mario and Super Paper Mario, the boss of Chapter 2 is chased by a creature with dog-like qualities. In Paper Mario, Tutankoopa is chased by a Chain Chomp. In Super Paper Mario, Mimi is chased by Gnaw.
 * In all three, the second and fourth chapter bosses work for the main villain (although Doopliss does not join Grodus until after he is defeated in Chapter 4). If Smorg is working for Grodus, then this applies to the sixth boss as well.
 * In both Paper Mario and Super Paper Mario, Mario has to run away from a chapter boss who chases him because they are invincible and cannot be defeated until the end of the chapter. In Paper Mario, Mario has to run away from Tubba Blubba. In Super Paper Mario, Mario and Peach have to run away from Mimi in her spider form.
 * Also, all three games have a chapter boss that is invincible until the end of the chapter. Paper Mario being Tubba Blubba, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door being Doopliss, and Super Paper Mario being Mimi. However, unlike Tubba Blubba and Mimi, Doopliss never actually chases the player, although they must run away from him in battle if they guess his name wrong when he asks them.
 * This game features a plant boss at the end of Chapter 5, just as the first Paper Mario did.
 * Lady Bow and Parakarry make cameos in this game, just as they did in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
 * As with the first and second Paper Mario games, Mario's first ally knows how to use the Tattle ability.
 * As with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, this game, too, contained a main villain that is being used as a pawn the entire time by one of his minions, and an ally to get possessed by the game's final boss.
 * In both Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario, the main villain's name resembles an expression of disgust, and his minion who is using him has a name resembling a word related to insanity.
 * In all three games, a character says "Still your tongue" to another character whose name starts with B.
 * Super Paper Mario, just like the first game, features a cutscene where an enemy asks questions about Mario and company's weakpoints, and the kinds of things that they hate.
 * Super Paper Mario has a childish shapeshifting character, just like the previous game.
 * All three Paper Mario games have at least one party member that has to be fought first before they join. Paper Mario being Lakilester, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door being Vivian, and Super Paper Mario being Bowser.
 * Super Paper Mario contains a Pit of 100 Trials, as well; and just as it is in the second game, it is entirely optional, and contains a boss that is supposedly more difficult than this game's final boss, and, in the case of the Flipside pit, is very similar to the first boss.
 * In Chapter 8-2, Mario and company are lured into a trap by Mimi, where she tricks them into hitting a blue ! Block, similar to how Yellow Ninjakoopa set a trap for Mario, where he hits a fake ? Block that causes him to fall through a trap door, as well as the trap that Lord Crump sets in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, which is activated by placing the Puni Orb in a fake pedestal.
 * The final stages of all three games involve a shapeshifting villain masquerading as a familiar character that assists Mario and company throughout the game: a Duplighost impersonates Princess Peach in Bowser's Castle in the first game, Doopliss impersonates Professor Frankly at the Palace of Shadow entrance in the second and Mimi mimics Merlon within Castle Bleck in this game.
 * The player needs to collect specific entities to progress through chapters in all three games: Star Spirits, Crystal Stars and Pure Hearts, respectively.
 * The final battles of all three Paper Mario games involve a villain becoming invincible, where the entities that were collected throughout the game have to be used against them to remove their invincibility barriers.
 * The final bosses of both Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario offer Mario and his allies a chance to join them, and if "yes" is chosen, then the player gets an instant Game Over.
 * In addition, the final bosses in both of these games have the goal of ending the world.
 * In both Super Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, there is a new character that is the main antagonist for most of the game, but ends up getting betrayed/injured by the true final boss. Also, the final bosses of each of these games are Mario's allies who are forced to fuse with the main villain.
 * Although Chapter 7 does not take place in a snowy region like it did in the first two Paper Mario games, it did contain a boss with power over the ice element, just like the first Paper Mario.
 * As with the previous game, Super Paper Mario had an ordinary enemy by the name of "Johnson", as well.
 * Super Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door both have legends involving four heroes. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, it is the four ancient heroes that turned into the Black Chest Demons, in Super Paper Mario, it is the playable character cast.
 * All three Paper Mario titles involve battling a giant Blooper at some point in the game.
 * All three chapter 5 bosses have more than 1 form.
 * Each Chapter 5 features a non-partner character that goes along with Mario to the chapter's location, and at least one point enters the "dungeon" with him (Kolorado, Flavio, and Flint Cragley). All three have a significant part to play near the end; Kolorado gives Mario an item needed to enter the sixth chapter in return for the treasure, Flavio negotiates with Cortez to fight off an attack by Crump, and Cragley informs the Cragnons of the reason behind the Floro Sapiens' invasion and tells them to stop throwing trash into the river.
 * All of Mario's partners in this game are a final boss in at least one of each of the first three released Paper Mario titles, Bowser in Paper Mario, Peach in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (possessed by the Shadow Queen), and Luigi in Super Paper Mario (hypnotized and combined with Dimentio).
 * In this and the previous game, there is a segment where the floor is flooded with a swarm of enemies. In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, this happens with Dull Bones in Hooktail's Castle and the Dry Bones in the Palace of Shadow while in Super Paper Mario, this happens with copies of Dimentio in Count Bleck's castle.
 * Also, in both games, there is a major battle between armies of the enemies, one side being the good guys and one side being the bad. The two sides fight each other and the good side wins. In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, it is Grodus' army vs. the capsized civilians. In this game, it is the Skellobit army vs. the Nimbis.
 * In this and the second game, there is a segment where the player has to help Peach in some way using an item. In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Peach herself creates a potion, and if it is made incorrectly, she can turn either big or small. In this game, she is asleep and the player has to bring her a fruit that can wake her up. If the player brings her the wrong fruit, she will turn either big or small as well. The smoke effect when Peach is given said item is similar as well. Also, while bringing her the wrong item will not do anything, the player must bring Peach a Spicy Soup (made by bringing a Fire Burst to Saffron) after Chapter 1 to wake her up. It is mandatory to do so, because Peach is needed numerous times throughout the game.
 * All three games require the player to be in at least the fourth chapter to cook two things together.
 * All three titles required Mario to go through a fortress to progress though the game. Koopa Bros. Fortress in the first, X-Naut Fortress in the second, and Fort Francis in Super Paper Mario. Also, both X-Naut Fortress and Fort Francis are high-tech themed.
 * Like the first two games, the Chapter 5 boss is located in a cave.
 * Both Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Super Paper Mario feature a card key system somewhere. In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, it is located in X-Naut Fortress. In Super Paper Mario, it is located in Floro Caverns. The design of both of them is also similar.

Differences from the other Paper Mario games

 * This game is a side-scroller, unlike the other Paper Mario games.
 * As such, this is the first and so far only Mario RPG to lack turn-based battles (aside from the Underchomp battle).
 * A score system is used for leveling up, rather than Star Points.
 * For the first time in the series, Peach's design uses her current main dress.
 * This is the only game in the Paper Mario series to not feature Kammy Koopa or Kamek.
 * For the first time in the series, damage cannot be inflicted on Bowser with a standard jump attack.
 * The trend of Mario gaining a special attack from the game's key objects was broken, starting with this game.
 * This is the only game in the Paper Mario series to be alluded to in its predecessor.
 * Unlike the first two (as well as its successor), the fifth chapter does not take place on a tropical island.
 * This game (as well as Paper Mario: Color Splash) does not have an ice-themed locale.
 * There is no parade (or anything similar to one) during the credits.
 * It does, however, have pictures of the game shown during the credits.
 * Starting with this game, Mario's house is not shown during the ending.
 * This is the only game in the series with Luigi as a playable character.
 * This is the only game in the series where the final boss theme does not change after the intermission.
 * Starting with this game, a Goomba character does not give tattles.
 * Starting with this game, Parakarry does not appear at the beginning of the game to deliver a letter to Mario and Luigi.
 * This is the only game in the series where no Bob-ombs appear physically.
 * This is the only game in the series where Mario does not break the fourth wall by giving the player a thumbs up.
 * Besides Bowser's intermissions in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, this is the only game in the series where the player characters can swim in bodies of water freely, while in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario will get hurt by Nibbles if he falls into water, and in other games Mario simply cannot touch deep water at all.
 * In this game, ? Blocks have their contents reset every time Mario enters a level. In the previous two games and Paper Mario: The Origami King, they permanently remain as Empty Blocks.

References to other games

 * Game & Watch: The Flopside Pit of 100 Trials design is based on the design of Game & Watch games.
 * Mario Bros.: Super Dimentio's simile taunt to the party after the first half of the battle has him comparing the party to upside-down turtles as they wallow in helplessness, alluding to how Shellcreepers are defeated.
 * Super Mario Bros.: Many references:
 * When Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, or a Koopa Troopa gets a Mega Star, they turn into screen-sized versions of their sprites from this game; similarly, the Pal Pills create eight small Mario, Luigi, Peach, or Bowser sprites from this game to aid the player. The sprite for the Shell Shock is also the same sprite.
 * The design for ? Blocks is based upon those of this game.
 * When Piccolo is in use, she causes the characters to have the same sound effects as in the original Super Mario Bros.
 * World 1-1 has been recreated in Chapter 1-1 (which also has a rendition of the main theme), World 1-2 has been recreated in Chapter 3-1, World 2-1 is recreated in Chapter 5-3, and World 2-2 is recreated in Chapter 3-2.
 * Underground rooms filled completely with coins reappear.
 * Bowser's castle in the Bitlands is based on the castle designs of this game.
 * One of the Sammer Guys says "Sorry, but your prize is in another castle", referring what the Toads say after being rescued from fake Bowsers ("Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!").
 * When Mario is sent to The Underwhere, there is a reference to the Minus World.
 * In Outer Space, there are constellations of Fire Flowers, Super Mushrooms, and Koopa shells at the background.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels: When Mario and co. Is sent to The Underwhere, someone references a Poison Mushroom, a power-up (or rather, power-down) from this game as a Poison 1-Up Mushroom.
 * The Legend of Zelda series: When Fracktail short-circuits, he says, "I AM ERROR," a reference to the character Error's line from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Rubees resemble Rupees, the currency in this game series.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2: Francis' must-buy list includes something called Cyborg Wart, a reference to Wart, the final boss of this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: The theme song that plays when the Big Blooper appears in Chapter 3-2 is an arrangement of the underwater background music that plays in this game. At the start of the Yold Ruins, there is a place where Mario must avoid bottomless pits and a Fire Bar in order to get to a door. There is a ? Block above where the Fire Bar is. Additionally, if Mario climbs the platforms to the area above the exit, he can find a secret treasure chest. This is an allusion to the first fortress in World 1 of Super Mario Bros. 3, where the secret is found by flying above where the door was and the secret was the Recorder. Bowser's battle theme is a remix of the music playing before Mario selects a level in Dark Land. Francis' to-buy list includes a "Tanooki suit made with real tanooki fur", a reference to the Tanooki Suit from this game.
 * Super Mario World: When the player hits the blue switch in Chapter 1-2, it shows the first part of Yoshi's Island 3. Part of the main theme is arranged into Chapter 1-1's music.
 * Paper Mario: Every partner in this game returns as a Catch Card. Francis also has posters of Lady Bow and Bootler. Tubba Blubba is also mentioned by Francis, stating that there is a TV show called "The Blubbening", which stars him. Also, Mimi makes two direct references to this game. The first part is when she shapeshifts into Bowser and yells at Dimentio for reading her diary (which is a reference to Peach and Twink reading Bowser's diary), and the second part is when Mimi shapeshifts into Merlee, asking Mario and company about their weakpoints, just as Bowser and Kammy did to Peach. Also, at the beginning of the game, Mario has a picture with all eight partners from both Paper Mario and its sequel. Also, the noise that plays when an enemy is defeated (when it disappears) is the noise that plays in Paper Mario when an enemy disappears, only sped up. The song that plays after the character completes a chapter (while a piece of paper at the middle of the screen is telling the chapter's story) is the Paper Mario's plain music.
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Super Paper Mario uses a modified engine based on this game. Many character sprites are reused or revamped from this game. Every partner in this game returns as a Catch Card. Francis also has plush toys of the Yoshi, Vivian, Admiral Bobbery, and Pennington, along with a poster of Petuni. Sir Grodus and the X-Nauts are also referenced by him when he mentioned the TV shows, "The Grodus Chronicles" and "Starship X-Naut". On Francis' things to buy list, he wants a Ms. Mowz doll with "real smooching action", as well as the DVD, "Harder Than Bedrawk: The Rawk Hawk Story". A Magnus Von Grapple action figure is also on that list. Additionally, Fracktail and Wracktail are homages to Hooktail and Bonetail, and one of the Sammer Guys is nicknamed "Thousand-Year Roar". Within Heronicus' house are the stone heads from Keelhaul Key. Also, as mentioned above, Mario has a picture of all seven partners from this game (with Flurrie being the most noticeable), as well as the partners from the first game.
 * Luigi's Mansion: The minigame Mansion Patrol takes place in the foyer of the mansion from this game.
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: There is a Sammer Guy named Mustard of Doom, referencing one of Fawful's quotes in this game. Red and Green are a pair of brothers in red and green, similar to many pairs of characters who appear as red and green siblings in this game.

References in later games

 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The trophies, Paper Mario, Paper Luigi, Paper Bowser, Paper Peach, Wedding Bowser, Wedding Peach and Fracktail all reference the story of this game in the description. Count Bleck, Tippi, and O'Chunks also appear as Stickers.
 * Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: Bowser's battle animation in Bowser's Inside Story resembles the one in this game.
 * Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: Big Blooper is mentioned in the Blooper trophy in the Nintendo 3DS version. Trophies of Tippi, Fracktail, Flint Cragley, Mr. L, and Count Bleck appear in the Wii U version.
 * Paper Mario: Color Splash: The 3-D flipping mechanic returns in this game during the Super Mario Bros. 3-styled sub-level found within the Green Energy Plant.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Mr. L and Dimentio appear in this game as spirits. A giant Luigi appears during the Dimentio spirit battle, referencing Super Dimentio.

Quotes

 * "Mario! Take this and save all worlds from destruction!" - Merlon
 * "Nothing is decided entirely by fate, you know... All things determine their destinies." - Tippi
 * "To feel sadness is to live, but as long as you are alive, the future is a blank page." - Merlon
 * "Of all things, you defend the heart?! Nothing could be more worthless..." - Count Bleck
 * "Well, I can’t just sit here and let everyone else go off to save the worlds, now, can I?" - Princess Peach
 * "No more sequels! It's gonna end right here, right now. ONCE AND FOR ALL!" - Bowser
 * "I don't give my name to scoundrels! Just watch as Luigi punishes you for your badness!" - Luigi
 * "JUNIOR?! C'mere un' I'll introduce yeh to Fist Jr. an' his wee pal, Slappie!" - O'Chunks
 * "You DUMMIES! The only reason I'm even HERE is to get in the way!" - Mimi
 * "Master of dimensions... Pleaser of crowds... I am... Dimentio!" - Dimentio
 * "And with that...I am hungry. [...] Let us heal our weariness by devouring a banquet of sumptuous sweets!" - Merlon

Pre-release and unused content
Super Paper Mario was originally developed as a title for the Nintendo GameCube, under the same name. The game was also at one point considered for release on both the GameCube and Wii consoles. The Pixls were also initially named "Fairens," and all, but Tippi seemed to have initially been one single Fairen that would have morphed into different forms depending on the ability used.

Through the Platform
The player must be Luigi and must be under a platform moving down. To start the glitch, Luigi must high jump and hit the platform moving down. The platform will keep moving, and when Luigi starts falling, he should jump immediately. Luigi should be on the platform.

Infinite Jump Glitch
The player should use Mario and Thudley. The player should ground-pound with him, and just as Thudley's ground pound reaches maximum height, flip to 3-D, and ground-pound again and flip again, and keep repeating it.

Clipping Through Objects
If Mario flips dimensions, goes beside a slanted object, and flips back into 2D, he will be able to walk through the object.

Staff
The game was developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. Ryota Kawade was the chief director and Chie Kawabe was the art director. The music is credited to Naoko Mitome and Chika Sekigawa. Shigeru Miyamoto is credited as supervisor. The game was produced by Kensuke Tanabe and Ryoichi Kitanishi and executive produced by Nintendo's president at the time, Satoru Iwata.

Trivia

 * The save data description is "Interdimensional adventure!"
 * The Japanese version says 「ペラペラマリオの超次元大冒険！」
 * A Gold Fuzzy made an appearance on the back cover of the guidebook, but no Gold Fuzzies appear in-game.
 * In the American version of Super Paper Mario, Dimentio insults Luigi by calling his mustache a "shag." Because this term doubles as a vulgar slang term in British English, the line was changed to have Dimentio call Luigi "pushover" in the British version. Similarly, most instances of "spank" was changed to "yell" or "clobber" in the British version. This is most notable with O'Chunks's dialogue.
 * In a 2007 interview, Seth Gordon, director of , expressed his desire to create a film adaptation of Super Paper Mario. With the rising popularity of, his idea for an adaptation involved constantly switching between 2D and 3D. However, Gordon also mentioned that, even though The King of Kong was screened for Nintendo, he has not been given an opportunity to speak with Nintendo about the idea.
 * During the cutscene in which Count Bleck's barrier is broken, Princess Peach speaks a line that was likely intended for Bleck: "What is now happening to... Count Bleck?!"
 * A tie-in browser game was released in 2007 called Super Paper Mario Memory Match.