Paper Mario (character)

Paper Mario is a paper form of Mario, based on his appearances in the Paper Mario series, that came out of a magical book in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Paper Mario is an independent character from Mario and interacts with him, Luigi, and various other characters from both the real world and the paper world within the book in the game.

Super Mario Maker
Paper Mario first appears alongside Mario and Luigi as part of the "Mario Trio" costume, one of the many unlockable Costume Mario costumes in Super Mario Maker. The costume is unlocked by clearing the Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Event Course.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Paper Mario makes his debut as a unique character from Mario in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. He first appears by saving Mario and Luigi from the threat of Paper Goombas. He agrees to help his three-dimensional counterpart and brother gather the Paper Toads, rescue Princess Peach and Paper Peach, and defeat Bowser and Paper Bowser, returning all Paper characters to the book from whence they came.

Whenever the trio encounters an obstacle, Paper Mario will usually be the character to come up with a solution, being the ones to develop the Trio Moves for use on the field. He is also given a distinct role during the return visit to Gloomy Woods, where he and his counterpart are kidnapped by King Boo, and Luigi must face his fears to rescue them. Paper Mario is rescued second, and he is held hostage during the battle with King Boo.

Once the Peaches have been rescued and the Bowsers defeated, Paper Mario returns to his book, where he immediately re-enters battle with Paper Bowser.

In battle, Paper Mario uses different mechanics to Mario and Luigi. He is the only character able to perform Trio Attacks, in lieu of using Bros. Attacks. He is also the only character able to employ the Copy Block, making six copies of himself (eight and ten if Rank-Up Bonuses are used) to take hits and increase the damage he is able to deal. Thirdly, his dodge commands are more versatile than Mario's and Luigi's, able to hover in the air longer while dodging with a jump, and swinging multiple hammers while dodging with a hammer. Like Mario, Paper Mario has high attack and speed, but he has even lower defense and HP than Mario (though this can be worked around with his Copy Block ability). Along with his low defense and HP, his other weaknesses include his position in formation, the high BP cost of his Trio Attacks (which are lost if either Mario or Luigi faints, while Mario and Luigi can perform Bros. Attacks if Paper Mario has fainted), and a weakness to fire-based moves (a trait shared along with other paper enemies).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Paper Mario appears as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Trivia

 * When Paper Mario joins the team in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, the battle theme changes from the Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga battle theme cover to the battle theme for the game, called Mixed-Up Scramble. However, the former does not play during battles while he has been kidnapped in Gloomy Woods.