Catch Card

Catch Cards are cards that Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi can collect in Super Paper Mario. There are different types of Catch Cards, each with a character's picture, stats and other information.

Owning the Catch Card of an enemy will increase all damage done to that enemy, starting at double damage for one card; this factor is increased by one for each card collected, e.g. owning two Squiglet cards multiplies damage done to Squiglets by three, while owning three multiplies it by four, etc. The maximum number of each Catch Card that can be held is 99, multiplying the damage done to that enemy by 100.

In the Card Shops, Catch Cards can be bought as simple blank blue cards, which can be used to capture any enemy; if it succeeds, the enemy then turns into a collectible card. Players can also buy Caught Cards, which already have enemies on them, reducing the need to trek through the various worlds capturing enemies. The downside is that the Caught Cards are either random or more expensive than buying a blank Catch Card, depending on which Card Shop the Caught Card is bought from.

There are two Card Shops in the game, one each on the first floor of Flipside and Flopside. Flipside's shop, Catch a Dream, sells Catch Cards for 20 Coins each, as well as random Caught Cards for 10 Coins each. The player chooses one of eight Card Bags that contains the card; the exact contents are a mystery until the money is paid.

Flopside's shop, Fondest Hopes, sells Catch Card SPs, which almost always work, except on bosses. They are a red palette swap of the original Catch Card and cost 100 Coins each. Their selection of Caught Cards changes frequently and allows the player to choose which card he or she wishes to buy, as long as it is in stock. The cards are expensive, however, and often exceed 50 or even 100 Coins.

Catch Cards do not always have enemies on them. Important characters such as Merlon, Bestovius, the Pixls, and even Mario's partners from Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door have their own cards as well. Their cards must either be found or purchased in a Card Shop. If the player obtains Mario's card, the Flip Meter will never deplete, allowing him to stay in 3-D indefinitely. Collecting the cards other cards have no effect, and are purely for bragging rights.

Catch Cards are also valued based on their rarity. Normal enemy cards are bronze and have one star on the Card Collection screen. Most boss and character cards are considered Super Cards; these are silver and have two stars. Exceedingly rare cards, such as the Amazy Dayzee and the Pixls, are referred to as Special Cards; their design is gold and they boast three stars on the Card Collection screen. The rarer the card, typically, the more coins it is worth.

If the player desires, they can sell cards back to the shops, with each shop paying the same amount. Selling a card does not remove its entry, and the player always has the option of buying the card back, especially if the card was a rare card that had only one instance throughout the entire game; the price will be twice the amount of coins they had received for selling the card in the first place.

There are a total of 256 Catch Cards in the game.

Trivia

 * Despite being a Super Card, Mr. L's Catch Card is only worth 20 coins if bought at a card shop, and only 10 if sold.
 * Bowser is the only enemy with multiple Catch Cards. Owning the first card (the one obtained by completing the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials twice and beating Shadoo) will double damage against him; the other ones will not.
 * In the item description for Catch Cards, it is said that it captures the enemy's soul if it works. Despite this, many Catch Cards exist for main characters in the game, with some having multiple cards (i.e. Peach has three).