List of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door glitches

This is a list of glitches in the game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Glitches
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, all names are conjectural.

Chapter 1 Petalburg Crash
If the ID value of the previous NPC Mario interacted with is greater than 11 upon entering Petalburg for the first time and speaking to the Koopa Troopa at the entrance, the game will crash.

A Clothes Call
Mario should sell his L Emblem or W Emblem badges while he has it equipped. His clothes will still resemble the Wario outfit, Luigi outfit or Waluigi outfit until he leaves the area, enter the inventory screen, or save and quit. The same happens if one of these badges is stolen by a Badge Bandit.

Goombella Buffering
Whenever Mario uses Goombella's tattle ability outside of battle, all loading zones are deactivated. For unknown reasons, there is a very small window (only a few frames) in which Mario can be moved directly before Goombella's textbox opens. Assuming Mario doesn't move while inside a loading zone outside of more Goombella Buffers (loading zones are not very thick), Mario will have completely bypassed the loading zone and can now walk on the out of bounds seam of many rooms. Note that some loading zones have invisible walls around them, meaning that no more can be done once the loading zone is bypassed. If this is not the case, then a variety of other tricks can be performed.

Neutral Jumping
As Mario walks throughout rooms, his partners follow him using ground based directional movement to essentially mimic his movement. If Mario is stationary whenever he starts jumping, and he begins to move whilst in the air, this register is not updated, and the partner does not move. Though this isn't technically a glitch, it can be used to separate Mario from his partners, in order to perform a variety of other glitches.

Delayed Goombella Buffer/Text Storage
Though they may seem inconspicuous, Items can be used for a variety of glitches. Mario must have a full inventory to perform this glitch. By performing Neutral Jumps into an item while Goombella is Mario's active partner a Delayed Goombella Buffer can be performed to acquire Text Storage. After the Neutral Jumps are performed to separate Goombella from Mario, if Mario is directly next to the item, he can Goombella Buffer (Explained above) into the item. Because Goombella is separated from Mario, the text box's activation is delayed (Hence the name) and the item toss menu can be closed before the text box is activated. This tricks the game into allowing enemies to move and NPCs to be interacted with. This is all done while Goombella is still talking. If an enemy is encountered, Goombella switched away from, and the battle is left, or a cutscene is activated to deactivate Goombella, Mario will be able to walk around while a text box is still activated, given it was kept open during this whole process. If the text box is closed, all partner's abilities can be used immediately afterwards, the most useful of which being Yoshi's.

Yoshi Teleport
When Text Storage is performed, a partner's ability can be used immediately after the text box is closed. Unlike using a partner's ability normally where they teleport to Mario, they use their ability from their coordinates. When this is done with the Yoshi Kid, Mario will teleport to their Y-coordinate, essentially "teleporting" to where Yoshi is, even if it is through a wall or under the floor.

Death of Yux
If Yux, Z-Yux, or X-Yux are defeated via the burn status ailment and with their Mini-Yux(es) still active, the Mini-Yux(es) and shield continue to exist. The battle continues even if the Mini-Yux(es) are the only remaining enemies. It only ends after the Mini-Yux(es) are defeated.

Disappearing Admiral Bobbery
Admiral Bobbery can be forced offscreen in this glitch. It can be used any time after Bobbery joins Mario's party. In Rogueport, the player should go anywhere near the gate right next to the passage above. Tossing him makes Bobbery go off the flipbook, and as long as Mario doesn't leave the area, talk to someone, or change partners, he will be walking alone.

Disappearing Koops
Like Admiral Bobbery, Koops himself can also disappear, but it's a little different. To make him disappear, the player must go to Center Rogueport and go to the back with the Goomba and Bandit. There, shoot Koops left or right, and keep holding X. Talk to one of the residents in Center Rogueport, and Koops should disappear, leaving Mario all alone. Unless the player leaves Center Rogueport, press X again, switch partners, or go into a shop, Mario should be alone.

Drown and Enter
However, when the player does this with the house past the Trouble Center instead of the character trying to jump at the wall to try coming in, they will keep falling in the water a couple of times and then appear behind the player. This glitch is essentially the same as "Let Me In!" but the partner will appear behind Mario after a couple of times falling into the water.

Frankie's Ring Does Not Despawn
In the Japanese version, if Frankie's trouble is canceled while the ring is currently spawned, it will not be despawn. If another trouble is taken and then the ring is collected, the ring will set a flag that is used by other troubles. This allows some troubles to be progressed simply by collecting the ring.

Speed Swapping
Mario's vertical velocity is faster than his horizontal velocity. This faster vertical velocity can be stored for horizontal travel by jumping vertically at the onset of the jump, then swapping Mario's direction of travel horizontally a few frames afterwards, Mario's faster vertical velocity will be stored, and he will move faster than normal. This is possible in normal gameplay, but is mostly used in TAS runs of the game. It can also be used to solve some time based puzzles incorrectly, allowing for some somewhat interesting sequence breaks.

Glitz Pit Out of Bounds
When Mario accepts Jolene's trouble at the Trouble Center, he should enter her office via the air duct connecting to the Champion's Room instead of talking to the security guard by the door. When Mario exits the office via the door, the guard will remain squarely in front of it, and Mario will be forced backward out of the bounds of the area (even being able to walk off the edge of the level).

Is that a question?!
During the second day on The Excess Express, when Mario finds the clue in his room, if the player aims well between the bed and the clue, the clue message will appear with "Yes", and "No" which belongs to the sleep message.

Let Me In!
This can be done at any moment after Zess T. starts cooking for the player and with any partner. Sometimes, when the player enters the house when coming from West Rogueport, if they are fast enough, the door will shut behind Mario but the partner will stay outside. If the player talks to Zess T., the partner will desperately jump trying to get in, but will stay outside until Mario exits the house.

This glitch can also be done in most other buildings in Rogueport and Fahr Outpost.

Mario's True Colors
When Mario is solid purple after battling Doopliss, the player can change his picture on the menu screen back to normal by simply taking off or putting on a badge. The change is only temporary, though; when the player exits and re-enter the menu, Mario's picture will be purple again.

Flurrie Super Slide
By using Flurrie's ability as soon as a door is opened, Mario will be pushed away from the door very far, depending on how the player presses afterwards. This is used when entering houses as walls will temporarily loose their collision detection during the camera transition cutscene. Flurrie Super Sliding pushes Mario horizontally across the seam in the international versions of the game, and vertically in the Japanese Version.

Ms. Mowz: Master of Disguise
There is a way to have Bobbery show up in Mario's party before he actually joins Mario's party. To do this, the player must have Ms. Mowz in their party, and she must not be alongside Mario at the time. If the player chooses a healing item, Bobbery will be in Ms. Mowz's spot on the list.

Great Tree Softlock
This can be done at any point in the game on any door with a switch nearby. After hitting the switch (the one that locks/unlocks the door) to lock the door, quickly open the door while it's still unlocked. If done fast enough, the door opens and Mario goes through, his partner tries to go through the door, but fails. The game thinks that both Mario and his partner are still behind the unlocked door near the switch. The only way to end this glitch is to reset the console.

Rawk Hawk out of the picture
During the fight with Rawk Hawk, if the player manages to Superguard a direct attack from Rawk Hawk when he has only 1 HP left, Rawk Hawk will be off the screen with his dialogue open.

Stuck in the Stairs 1
In Hooktail Castle, the player need to go into the room with the reversing stairs. Yoshi Kid is required for this glitch, but first, the player must have Koops to hit the switch. Next, the player must get on top of the steps and use the Yoshi to hover to the switch. Before just reaching the top, the player has to get as close to the wall as possible, instead of landing on the switch, but rather on the platform, right behind it, and then get in front of the switch, facing away from it, nearly dangling off the edge. The player needs to launch Koops' shell and hold it, and finally, jump off the platform with the switch, (but don't hit it), and stand at where the stairs previously were. Then Koops will hit the switch, reversing the stairs, and Mario will be inside the stairs. Mario will still be able to move and can escape simply by walking or jumping out.

Stuck in the Stairs 2
There is an easier way to pull off the stair glitch as seen above. The player will have to have the Ultra Hammer unlocked, however. Like before, the player will have to go to Hooktail Castle in the same room with the rotating stairs. With Koops, the player must hit the switch, thus rotating the stairs. The player needs to break the concrete blocks by using the Ultra Hammer. Now, facing away from the stairs, the player must launch Koops again. The player must now stand where the stairs previously were, and then let go of the X button. This will cause Koops to hit the switch, thus putting Mario inside the stairs. Again, the player can escape by simply walking or jumping out.

Tail Fail
If Vivian uses her Shade Fist move on a flying enemy while she is also Invisible, her "tail" will graphicially glitch. Instead of extending as it normally does when she rises in the air, it will instead stay small as if she were still attached to the ground, while she is hovering in mid-air.

Koops stuck under house
In Petalburg, the player needs to go to left side of Petalburg and head to the gate. Once the player gets there, they must not leave. Instead, they should go inside the house that is closest to the gate, and if it has a Toad in it, and a table near the door, then the player is in the right one. Now the player must go to the table and go in the corner, that is closest to the door, and make sure they have Koops out and then use Koops' ability in that corner, and he'll go under the house and stay there unless the player moves, as he can easily jump out.

Hazard Respawn Glitch
As Mario travels through rooms with hazards, they constantly update his respawn position in the case he makes contact with a hazard such as water. This does not update unless Mario has been in contact with the ground for more than one frame in a location that would update his respawn location. If Mario makes contact with a hazard in a room in which he has not updated his respawn position, (i.e. he jumps into a hazard on the frame he enters a room.) Mario will simply fly out of the water, without being bitten by a mechanical Cheep Cheep. (Though he will still take damage.) He will then fall to coordinate (0,0,0) which is the center of the room. This can be used for a variety of sequence breaks, and minor speedrunning tactics.

Flying Koops
When in the Glitz Pit hallway Mario should kick Koops and hold him at either end of the hallway. Mario should then walk to the opposite side of where Koops is, let go of him, and Koops can, for a split second, be seen flying down through the floor and out the bottom of the screen.

Koops Splashing on Dry Land
At the dock of Rogueport, the player should stand on or near the bollard and use Koops's ability, holding so he remains in place. Without letting go of the button, the player should walk away so that Koops is offscreen, and talk to a character in the same area. When the player is done, Koops will respawn next to Mario. There will be a splash animation even on dry land. This glitch also works in Petalburg.

Walking Paragoomba
If Mario goes to Petal Meadows and lures the first Paragoomba to one "swoop" distance of the fence (not the one near the pipe), then goes behind the fence so the Paragoomba notices him. If done correctly, the Paragoomba swoops down in front of the fence and gets stuck behind it. If not, the Paragoomba gets stuck in the air. If done correctly, standing on one side of the Paragoomba causes it to look normal. Standing on the other side causes the Paragoomba to spin in circles.

Ms. Mowz Glitch
In any room with water in it, by using Ms. Mowz's ability directly next to the water and, in a similar manner to Goombella buffering, and closing Ms. Mowz's text while Mario is flying up into the air, it is possible to gain control of Mario while he is in the air, allowing some areas to be reached earlier than intended. These areas include the pipes to Keelhaul Key and Poshley Heights, and the Boat Mode Panels in front of the Riddle Tower. This glitch can significantly break the game and make parts of the game unplayable and rendering the game not possible to complete.

Bulky Bob-omb Glitch
When the player first battles the two Bulky Bob-ombs in the room with the sluice gate in Pirate's Grotto, the Bulky Bob-ombs will only raise their attack and defense and will not light their fuses. Once the player defeats them they will battle normally.

Flavio as a Permanent Partner
By using the Mowz Glitch or Hazard Respawn Glitch in the room with the large stone block in Rogueport Sewers, it is possible to get Mario and co. to Keehaul Key early. This will open up the blue pipe on the island that goes back to the sewers. Now, the player must play until Flavio joins their team normally, and exit back to the sewers with the pipe, and he will now never leave their party. Because of this, the player can take him anywhere in any chapter and even finish the final boss and game with him still in their party. This even extends to the Peach and Bowser segments as well.

One negative side effect of this glitch, however, is that the Excess Express will become permanently inaccessible, as performing this glitch skips the ending to Chapter 5 which also skips Mario obtaining the train ticket from Don Pianta, and there is no other way to obtain one in the game.

NOTE: For a similar partner glitch in Paper Mario: The Origami King, see Partner duplication and smuggling.

Black Area
If Mario transforms into tube mode in the house to the west of the east side of Rogueport and goes halfway into the hole, the area in the back of the house goes black.

Changing colors
If the player Spring Jumps on the right of the pipe in the room with the Warp Pipe to Petal Meadows, the platform turns from white to black. As the player moves farther right, the platform changes from back to white.

Stuck on the Top Level
If Mario quickly runs from the Inn in Rogueport to the stairs, drops down from the top third step, and runs to the door, his partner stays on the second level. To end the glitch, the player must use the partner's ability or leave the room.

Invisible Roof
If Mario Spring Jumps in the house with the Koopa on the east side of Rogueport on the top level near the dresser, Mario will hit an invisible obstacle and fall to the ground.

Vivian Softlock
In the Japanese version, while on the ground with Vivian, the player is able to open the pause menu at any time, even when in a cutscene. If they do this during Vivian's tutorial, the game will softlock after the tutorial.