Star Point

"Yeah, I bet you know, but you get these things called Star Points when you win battles."

- Goombella

Star Points are special points Mario can accumulate in the games Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They are earned for battling and defeating enemies. When Mario collects 100 Star Points, he levels up and gets to increase his HP, FP, or BP. Mario cannot get more than 100 Star Points per battle. Essentially, Star Points function as Experience Points. The number of Star Points yielded after a battle will vary depending on Mario's current level: the higher Mario's level is, the less Points there will be.

In Paper Mario, Mario can level up enough so that weak enemies do not give him Star Points upon their defeat, and once he reaches level 27, he cannot receive any more Star Points. He does, however, still receive the usual coin rewards as well as hearts and flowers. For a listing of how many Star Points an enemy drops in the game, see: List of Star Point amounts in Paper Mario.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, in contrast with the previous game, Mario is awarded a minimum of one Star Point at the end of a battle, no matter how weak the enemies are compared to his level. Additionally, Mario can automatically defeat enemies who no longer give more than one Star Point by using certain badges, though he does not receive any Star Points or coins if he defeats them in this way, and these badges do not work in the Pit of 100 Trials. Mario cannot level up beyond level 99 in this game under any circumstance. Interestingly, Mario — regardless of his level — is awarded only a single Star Point for defeating the Shadow Queen and Bonetail. The foes that yield the most Star Points are Amazy Dayzees, provided Mario can manage to defeat one before it flees. For a listing of how many Star Points an enemy drops in the game, see: List of Star Point amounts in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

In both games, while Mario is under Merlee's spell, she may randomly appear at the end of a battle and double the number of Star Points he earns.

Star Points also appear in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, serving a different purpose. They are now used for Battle Cards and are earned by getting high ratings on attacks. The maximum amount of Star Points is 20, but a Rank-Up Bonus can increase this number to 30.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

 * Instruction manual bio: "You'll need these points to use battle cards. You can earn them by successfully attacking enemies."

Trivia

 * In the first three Paper Mario games, each game's incarnation of Merlon bears a pendant that resembles a Star Point.