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: An old woman that gets very angry with you when you step on her contact lens and blocks your route to West Rogueport until you get her a new one. She will also cook stuff for you; give her a cookbook, and she can make foods with two items as well. She doesn't forgive you for crushing her contact lens, though.
: An old woman that gets very angry with you when you step on her contact lens and blocks your route to West Rogueport until you get her a new one. She will also cook stuff for you; give her a cookbook, and she can make foods with two items as well. She doesn't forgive you for crushing her contact lens, though.
===Major Bosses===
These are the characters who guard a Crystal Star or are merely the major enemies right before the end of a chapter.
[[Image:Hooktail.jpg|100px|right|Hooktail]]
'''Hooktail the Dragon'''
: The holder of the first Crystal Star is the dragon Hooktail. She has no problem with eating the innocents in the audience, but she claims to have gotten food poisoning from eating Crickets once, so she becomes ill upon hearing the sound of crickets.
[[Image:Magnus von grapple.jpg|100px|right|Magnus Von Grapple]]
'''Magnus Von Grapple'''
: Lord Crump steals the second Crystal Star in the Great Tree. After he sets off the countdown to the detenation of a bomb, Mario catches up to him and then Lord Crump fights Mario whilst inside his newest invention, the Magnus Von Grapple. Upon defeat, Lord Crump drops Crystal Star and flees.
[[Image:Grubba.jpg|100px|right|Grubba before the boss battle]]
'''Macho Grubba'''
: Grubba manages the Glitz Pit. He tries hard to help you win, but eventually, Mario finds out that his intentions aren't exactly pure.
: Initially nameless (identified as "????"), this duplighost seemingly ends the search for the fourth Crystal Star. Once you defeat him, however, you gain control of him. You eventually realize that he stole your name and body. Similar to the story [[Rumpelstiltskin]], you have to guess his name, otherwise he will refuse to give back your body. Unfortunately, you lack the letter "p", so you can't get your identity back until you find it. After Doopliss is defeated for the last time, he runs off in humiliation and then joins the Shadow Sirens. You fight him (and the rest of the Shadow Sirens) again in Chapter 8.
[[Image:Cortez.jpg|150px|right|Cortez]]
'''Cortez the Pirate King'''
: The 1000-year-old spirt of a feared pirate king, Cortez amassed a huge treasure somewhere in Keelhaul Key, one of them being the 5th Crystal Star. He usually appears as a huge skull, but can assume many forms, he also uses a sword, a rapier, hook and cutlass in battle. You fight him inside his ancient pirate ship "The Black Skull", but becomes your friend after he finds out that you're only after the Crystal Star and not his treasure. He ferries you to Keelhaul Key after chapter 5.
'''The Smorg Miasma'''
: Smorg does not hold a Crystal Star, but it attacks the Excess Express during its journey to Poshley Heights, where the sixth Crystal Star is held. Smorg is a huge monster made up of hundreds of smaller Smorgs in the form a blob shape with three tentacles. An individual Smorg can be described as a small beast made of five black "discs" and two yellow eyes. First seen at the Riverside Station, the Smorgs stow away onto the Excess Express and hold all of the passengers hostage within the miasma. Mario fights the entire tribe on top of the train and soon releases the petrified passengers.
'''Magnus Von Grapple 2.0'''
: Lord Crump is assigned to guard the seventh and last Crystal Star in the X-Naut Fortress located on the Moon. He uses an upgraded version of the Magnus Von Grapple, with new attacks and a higher HP amount. After defeat, the robot explodes, shooting Lord Crump into space.
'''The Shadow Queen'''
: The Shadow Queen is the ancient demon "treasure" that was sealed behind The Thousand-Year Door 1000 years ago. She was sealed away by the 7 Crystal Stars that Mario searches for throughout his adventure. Shortly after she is released by Grodus, she possesses the body of Princess Peach. She fights mainly by using magic attacks, and in addition to attacking Mario and his partner, she can also improve her offense and defense, drain the life of Mario and his partner, and at one point even draws in the the entire audience to restore her health! Upon her defeat, Princess Peach is released from her control.
==References to other titles==
Several references to other Nintendo games appear during gameplay. In at least one case (''Fire Emblem''), a non-playing character discusses the merits of purchasing it.
* ''[[Paper Mario]]'' — some of the partners' abilities were taken from ''Paper Mario'' to ''The Thousand-Year Door''. There are also many cameos and references of ''Paper Mario'' characters, such as Bow, Bootler, Merlon, and so on, as well as most previous items and badges appearing.
* ''[[Fire Emblem]]''
[[Image: paper_mario_bowser_smb.jpg|thumb|right|Bowser replaces Mario in a mini-game]]
* ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' — After the 2nd, 4th, and 6th chapters, [[Bowser (Nintendo)|Bowser]] does land, ocean, and castle levels. Also, in the X-naut [[moon]] fortress, you can do a Super jump in the 2nd floor room in which the vent cover isn't completely on, then go right and drop through the next vent cover and remove the curtain. Mario and his active partner now have an 8-bit look and the music from the very first level plays instead of the X-naut fortress music. It becomes inactive when you leave the room. This [[Easter egg (virtual)|Easter egg]] resembles similar treats found in ''[[Super Mario RPG]]'' and ''[[Paper Mario]]''.
* [[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|''Donkey Kong'' (arcade game)]]
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]/[[The Wind Waker]]'' — After Chapter 4, when you control [[Princess_Peach|Peach]], TEC gives you a quiz with 3 potential answers. An untrue answer to one of the questions is "a legendary sword", which may refer to how the Master Sword is needed to defeat [[Ganondorf]].
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, known in Japan as Paper Mario RPG (ペーパーマリオRPG), is the sequel to the Nintendo 64video gamePaper Mario, and is the fourth in the series of Mariorole-playing game titles that includes Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. It was developed by Intelligent Systems and released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCubevideo game console in 2004. The Thousand-Year Door follows the artistic style of its predecessor with a unique 2D-characters-in-a-3D-world look. It has many in-jokes and references regarding Intelligent Systems' Fire Emblem series, older titles in the Mario series, and other games that play on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. However, The Thousand-Year Door did not succeed on the level of sales that the original Paper Mario did, and dropped out of game charts at rapid speeds, but still appealed to the crowd quite a bit.
Popularity
Paper Mario's sales held the top spot on game charts for eighteen weeks. However, the sales of The Thousand-Year Door only held the top spot on game charts for a mere five weeks, proving that the sequel could not hold onto players for as long its predecessor.
Many of the Mario games have been able to sell in excess of ten million copies worldwide, especially back when video gaming was being introduced to the world. (Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, etcetra.) However, The Thousand-Year Door only sold two million copies, and was not a widely acclaimed sequel to Paper Mario, or just a Mario game in general, and was quickly pronounced as one of the lowest-grossing Mario games.
Despite all the low ratings, and game position dropping, overall The Thousand-Year Door was seen as an improvement in Mario plot lines, adventures, and especially storytelling. (Luigi sets out on his own journey, to the dismay of his brother.)
Game play
Unique elements
The Thousand-Year Door has some unique elements which owe to its very singular visual style. The graphics consist of an interesting mixture of three dimensional environments and two dimensional characters, who look as if they were made of paper, hence the name. At different points in the game, Mario is "cursed" with abilities which enable special field moves, all of which are based on the paper theme. These include:
Becoming a paper airplane and flying for short distances
Turning sideways to become as thin as a piece of paper
Rolling into a tube to duck under low-hanging objects
Folding into a boat to cross water
A variety of other visual effects in the world also play on this theme. Illusory objects that conceal secret items or switches can be blown away by a gust of wind, as they are actually pieces of paper with the object drawn on them stuck onto the page of the game world. Some switches cause changes in the world in ways that match the paper theme, like a bridge appearing by way of a flipbook-like animation or stone stairs being folded out from a single piece of stone-colored paper.
Battle system
Battles in The Thousand-Year Door borrow heavily from the original Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. The turn-based system, in which players select an attack, defense, or item from a menu, is augmented by timed button presses that, when performed correctly, can result in substantial attack or defense bonuses. In contrast to both Paper Mario and Superstar Saga, battles in The Thousand-Year Door happen on a stage in front of an audience. As the characters perform more advanced attacks, the audience grows, and Star Power is awarded based on the size of the audience. Having Star Power in turn lets the player perform Star Power moves. The size of the auditorium in which battles take place is affected by the fame ranking, which increases every ten levels up until Level 40. The player begins with a fame ranking of "Rising Star" (50 seats), then "B-List Star" (100 seats), then "A-List Star" (150 seats) and finally "Superstar" (200 seats).
Defeating enemies awards various numbers of Star Points to Mario; for every 100 points, Mario is able to level up, choosing between three character statistic enhancements. Selecting Health (HP) adds the specified number of points to Mario's maximum Heart Points, allowing him to last longer in battle; opting for Flower Points (FP) gives Mario additional ability to do special attacks or defenses; and finally selecting Badge Points (BP) increases the number of badges you can equip at any given time by increasing Mario's total BP.
Badges
Badges are found or bought in various spots. The character Dazzle will trade you Star Pieces for badges as well. Equipping a badge can do various things; some badges provide boosts in defense, some provide additional attacks, some increase your character statistics, and others only cause aesthetic changes to the game. There are literally dozens of badges in the game, and each one has a unique power. Each badge (besides the ones that only have aesthetic effects) takes a certain number of Badge Points, or BP, to equip; as noted above, you increase your total BP by selecting the BP block when leveling up.
Controls
Controls
Button
Overworld
Menu
Battle
A
Jump, Talk, Examine
Confirm
Confirm, Stylish Move, Defend
B
Hammer, skip dialogue
Cancel
Counterattack
X
Use partner ability
(In partner screen) View partner attacks
Attack Crowd
Y
Use paper vehicle tile
Not used
Change battle order
Z
Scroll back dialog, bring up info display
Not used
Not used
L
Not used
Scroll up lists
Not used
R
Paper Mode
Scroll down lists
Not used
Analog Stick
Move Mario
Move Cursor
Move Cursor
D-Pad
↑: Inventory, ←: Partner, →: Badges, ↓: Journal
Move Cursor
Move Cursor
C-Stick
Not used
Scroll up/down description
Not used
Start/Pause
Menu
Exit Menu
Not used
Story
File:1000 year door.jpgMario standing before the Thousand-Year Door
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door opens with a short introduction about a prosperous seaside town that was destroyed by a cataclysm and then sank into the depths of the earth. After the site of the town was completely purged of all evidence of its existence a new town, called Rogueport, was built there. A legend about a mysterious treasure then soon spread through the town. Princess Peach, whom was traveling, visited the town and met a merchant. The merchant gives her a small box, which is said to hold a map leading to a great treasure. The box also has a magical lock which will only open for one with a pure and noble heart. Peach is of course granted with the heart to open the box, and she now becomes in possession of the magical treasure map. Thrilled with this map, she sends it to Mario accompanied by a letter telling him to meet her in Rogueport to join her for a treasure hunt.
Upon arriving, Mario discovers Peach has been kidnapped by a mysterious group called the X-Nauts, who are also after the treasure on the map. So, Mario sets out to rescue Peach and beat the X-Nauts to the treasure. Each Chapter is a sperate story with Mario trying to get one of the Crystal Stars.
Mario is the venerable hero of the Super Mario Bros. video game series, as well as various offshoot games. In The Thousand-Year Door, he is on a treasure hunt for seven Crystal Stars, and teams up with Goombella and Koops, among others, during the game.
Boots - Mario has many Jump skills, which assist him both in and out of battle. In battle, he can attack flying enemies, and out of battle, he uses his Jumping skills to get around.
Hammer - Mario's Hammer assists him both in and out of battle, by attacking some enemies who have spikes, and out of battle, he can use it to knock items out of trees, hit blocks, hit switches, etc.
Finding herself kidnapped is a primary feature of Princess Peach's life. Very few games go by where she is not the target of some ne'er-do-well's plots. Unlike most Mario games, however, this time she is kidnapped by Sir Grodus and his X-Nauts.
Professor FranklyProfessor Frankly
Professor Frankly
The good Professor consults with Mario and Goombella at various points during their quest, and helps them with hints on where to go next.
King Bowser
King Bowser is Mario's nemesis, and is usually responsible for trouble in the Mushroom Kingdom. In this game, Bowser has many cutscenes where he is a playable character. These scenes are often quite humorous, and involve the music from the original 1981 Super Mario Bros. game Audio file "Super Mario Bros. - Original Theme.ogg" not found.
Short, fat, and individually weak, but rush to the defense of their leader when he is threatened. In the field, this is most often Lord Crump.
TEC
TEC-XX (nicknamed TEC) is a computer made by the X-Nauts to operate their system and gather information. He is a self-proclaimed "perfect" computer, and often summons Peach into the main computer room to ask her questions. She learns he doesn't know things like love, and will let her send mail to Mario in return for teaching him.
The Three Shadow Sirens
File:Shadow sirens.jpgBeldam, Marilyn, and Vivian The Shadow Sirens are a group of shadow-like creatures who aid Grodus to retrieve the map from Mario. The members of the Shadow Sirens are Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian, who is later replaced by Doopliss after she joins Mario. Beldam, the leader of the Shadow Sirens, is an often forgetful old hag, and on more than one occasion, her forgetfulness gets Vivian in trouble. She is more of a magic user than the other two are. Marilyn is the biggest and strongest Shadow Siren in the bunch. Other than one line, she is unable to say more than "Guh", and various forms of it. She can become stronger and hit hard. The Shadow Sirens are fought twice in the game.
Party Members
The party members are characters who join Mario during his adventure. Each is equipped with a number of moves during battle and have unique abilities during game play. The members are listed in order of being joined as the game progresses. Unlike many of the allies in Paper Mario, most of these characters offer significant elements to the plot.
GoombellaGoombellaThe female, college-aged Goomba who is working with Professor Frankly to uncover ancient treasure. Similar to Goombario in the original Paper Mario, she joins Mario as a know-it-all guide. Her "Tattle" ability gives the player helpful information on places, people, enemies, etc. Her name is probably a portmanteau between "Goomba" and the female name "Isabella". Goombella's name in the Japanese version of the game is Christina (Ku-Ri-Su-Ti-Nu), which comes from the Japanese name for Goomba, Kuribo.
Koops
Koops
The second to join Mario's party, Koops is a Koopa from Petalburg. Very much like Kooper from the original Paper Mario, he can retreat into his shell and use it as a weapon against foes, and Mario can also launch him at switches or distant objects to hit them or retrieve them. He is with Mario to avenge his father Koopley, whom he believes to be dead, and to prove to Petalburg and his girlfriend, Koopie Koo, that he is not a coward. In Japan Koops is known as Nokotarou which comes from the name "Nokonoko", the Japanese name for the Koopa Troopa.
Flurrie
Flurrie
Madame Flurrie, a cloud spirit, brings many wind-related abilities to the table when she joins Mario on his quest. In addition to using these abilities during battle, she can send a gust of wind across objects to uncover secret items hidden behind paper. Flurrie's name in the Japanese version is Kurauda.
Appearing as a baby, Yoshi is one of Mario's partners. Depending on the current gamecube time, he'll vary in colors: green, blue, red, orange, white and black, and pink. The player is also granted to give the newborn Yoshi a name no more than 8 characters long when the Yoshi joins the party. Mario can ride him, making you move faster, and like Parakarry from the original Paper Mario, his Flutter Jump, while too weak to fly high, can get you across large gaps. Throughout the game, he refers to Mario as the Great Gonzales, because that's what everyone called him in the Glitz Pit. Yoshi's attacks make him a formidable and easy-to-use partner, as he possesses many unique abilities to confound foes.
Vivian
Vivian
Vivian possesses the cloaking/transparency ability that Lady Bow had in Paper Mario, but works in a more interesting effect: instead of literally turning invisible, Vivian can pull Mario into their shadow, where they can hide. This allows them to get past objects that move over them, and avoid sight from enemies and their attacks. Vivian possesses the strongest magic of any partner in the game, and often thought of as the best partner in the game thanks to her fiery powers and the ability to burn enemies.
At first, Vivian is a Shadow Siren working with her sisters Beldam and Marilyn. She is often blamed for things she didn't do, resulting in a bit of an inferiority complex. In Chapter 2 they are all sent to destroy Mario in the Boggly Woods, and take the Magical Map. The Sirens, however, fail at defeating Mario. In Chapter 4, when the doppelganger Doopliss steals Mario's name and body, Vivian meanwhile is ordered by Beldam to find the Superbombomb that she [Beldam] lost. Mario finds the Superbombomb and gives it to Vivian, making her feel better. However, Vivian is unaware that the shadow comforting her is Mario, so after Mario tells her the story about his problem, Vivian decides to join Mario and help his shadow get back his name and body. However when she finds out that the shadow was Mario, she feels stupid and leaves him right before fighting Doopliss. Later she comes around and decides to help Mario (and actually join the party) because of the kindness he had given her earlier, or perhaps because she has a slight crush on him. In the Japanese version, Vivian was actually male, but this was changed for the American release due to some standards issues.
Admiral Bobbery
Admiral BobberyAdmiral Bobbery
A retired Bob-omb sea captain, Admiral Bobbery assists Mario in his quest with his bomb-related attacks and abilities. He refuses to help you and Flavio get to Keelhaul Key, because he has vowed to not go out to sea again until you give him a letter from his late wife. Outside of battle, he uses the same attack as Bombette from Paper Mario 1, to explode and blow up cracks. Bobbery's name in the Japanese name is Barel (Ba-Re-Ru).
Ms. Mowz
Ms. Mowz is a thieving mouse who runs a Badge Shop at Rogueport and constantly flirts with Mario. She's the only optional character, and you have to accept a Trouble and find a Badge for her in Hooktail Castle before she'll join you. She has the useful ability to sniff out any type of item, ranging from coins to items to Star Pieces. She also possesses the ability to cut through Defense. Similar to Watt (video game character) from Paper Mario 1's ability to show hidden items.
Other Characters
These characters (excluding Luigi, Merlee, Merlon, and Merluvlee) are involved with significant points in the plotline, but usually have minor roles. Also mentioned is what chapter(s) he or she is most involved in.
Black Chest DemonsPrologue; Chapters 1, 4, and 5
Four Demons are locked in Black Chests, and beg for you to free them, saying you will help them. But when they come out, the Black Chest Demons place a curse on you. Fortunately for you, their curse is in your favor - they are how you obtain your four special Paper abilities. It is later implied they are actually the four heroes of legend that were cursed by the Shadow Queen after sealing her away.
~"WEEHEE! FOOOOLS!"
Don PiantaChapters 3 and 6
The leader of a bunch of thugs (think Pianta Mafia) that keeps people in line in Rogueport, Don Pianta's daughter, Fransesca, ran off with one of his minions, Frankie. He wants Mario to find them and bring them back to him in return for a Blimp Ticket to Glitzville. Mario also brings back Fransesca and Frankie when Don Pianta feels lonesome, and he gives him a Train Ticket to the Excess Express in return. Don Pianta is named after Don Vito from The Godfather.
Puni ElderChapter 2
An old woman with a short temper. When she is angry, she grows giant and yells at the person she's angry at, scaring the daylights out of them. She later wants a Life Shroom so she can live longer.
FlavioChapter 5
Flavio is a Pirate that, for the first four Chapters, sits in the Rogueport Inn admiring his red skull-shaped stone. In chapter five, he assists you in getting to Keelhaul Key. He's not a very dependable man, and would only go with you into the Jungle under pressure from the other shipmates. He is shaped like a lemon, and is therefore referred to as the Lemon of Paper Mario 2 by many people.
~"No, not good. Flavio hates you all."
JoleneChapter 3
Jolene is a female Toad that works at the Glitz Pit. She seems to be up to no good, as many contestants have been disappearing, but it is revealed that she has been trying to help you in order to save her brother, Prince Mush.
Luigi is Mario's brother. Every once in a while, he is sitting in the audience, and will occasionally assist you. He goes on adventures all during the plot. Each Chapter, he will have a new story and a new ally (who generally hates Luigi), and eventually, you can buy a novel about him, titled 'Super Luigi'. There are 5 volumes of 'Super Luigi' in total and the price progressively doubles (first volume costs 64 coins, second volume costs 128 coins, etc).
Merlee
Merlee, for a fee, will curse you, and appears in battles to help you, by raising your attack or defense levels, raising Star Points gained, raising coins earned, raising Flower Points or Heart Points earned, or lowering Flower Point use.
Merlon
Merlon has the ability to raise each secondary character one level, for three Shine Sprites.
Merluvlee
Merluvlee is a fortune teller, able to tell you where there are Star Pieces, Shine Sprites and even tell you where to go next. For a fee, of course.
PetuniChapter 2
Punio's little sister Petuni was captured by the X-Nauts along with most of the others. She asks you every once in a while to play the "Stump Petuni" game. If you let her win, she will give you a Mystic Egg.
PunioChapter 2
A young Puni that you find in Rogueport Sewers, Punio helps you get to the Great Tree. He often helps you get around, and is constantly yelled at by the Elder.
Rawk HawkChapter 3
The big, burly champion of the Glitz Pit, Rawk Hawk is undefeated. He is a shady character that will do anything to win when Mario, or the Great Gonzales, climbs the ranks.
Zess T.Chapter 3
An old woman that gets very angry with you when you step on her contact lens and blocks your route to West Rogueport until you get her a new one. She will also cook stuff for you; give her a cookbook, and she can make foods with two items as well. She doesn't forgive you for crushing her contact lens, though.
