Chet Rippo

Chet Rippo is a character found in Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In Paper Mario, the player can have him upgrade one of Mario's stats by two levels, while downgrading the others by one level. This is contrary to his claims that he simply upgrades one level with no side effects. Chet Rippo appears in Toad Town near Harry's Shop. He charges thirty-nine coins for his services, claiming they are normally worth three hundred ninety.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, he essentially does the same thing; this time upgrading and downgrading each level one at a time. He can also raise a partner's level by one rank while decreasing another partner's level by one rank. The price for either of these services is thirty-nine coins. Chet Rippo can only be visited after clearing Chapter 5 as the player is required to use Admiral Bobbery to blow up a wall blocking a Warp Pipe leading to Chet Rippo's house in the background near the main entrance to Rogueport Sewers.

Visiting Chet Rippo is entirely optional as his services are not required to advance through the main plot of either game.

It is possible that there are two different Chet Rippos. In Paper Mario, he appears to be a pudgy, bird-like creature, while in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, he looks more like the Shaman characters Merlon and Merlee. As a matter of fact, he may even be related to these Shaman-types (and may even be a member of the fortune-telling clan that names their members after their purposes mentioned by Wonky), although this is unlikely as his name does not begin in "Merl-". Noticeable is that in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, his hat is a severed upper half of a barrel and his cloak is patched.

In Paper Mario, he's the negative equivalent of Rip Cheato. Both their names are derived from the words "cheat" and "rip off". Both "Chet" and "Rip" are actual names.

Paper Mario

 * "He claims that he can upgrade your point levels...but there's something suspicious about him. I don't know... I just don't trust him for some reason. Who knows, though? I guess you can't judge a book by its cover."

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

 * "That's Chet Rippo, the adjuster. He can adjust your stats or your partner's ranks. Me, I wouldn't trust this guy with anything more complex than plucking back hair, I know I always say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but still..."