50 Fun Facts About Paper Mario: the Thousand-Year Door

Which character in The Thousand-Year Door recounts his own quest to rescue Princess Eclair of the Waffle Kingdom?

Luigi set off after opening a letter that begged Mario for help, because his brother had already left for Rogueport. His story builds to a duel with the Chestnut King at Hatesong Tower.

In The Thousand-Year Door, each toll of the Creepy Steeple bell turns residents of Twilight Town into which animals?

Pigs replace the villagers one bell toll at a time, a curse cast by a monster living in the steeple. It lifts only when Mario beats him and claims the Ruby Star.

Where is the X-Naut Fortress, the base where Princess Peach is held captive in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

On the Moon, in a five-story base dug deep beneath the surface. Peach only learns where she is late in the story, when the fortress computer finally tells her.

Which item does Princess Peach get from a Rogueport merchant and mail to Mario at the start of The Thousand-Year Door?

A treasure map, kept in a box said to open only for someone pure of heart. It points Mario to seven Crystal Stars and to a sealed doorway in the ruins beneath the town.

Which console received a full remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door two decades after the original?

Nintendo Switch players got the remake on May 23, 2024, with redrawn graphics and a rearranged soundtrack. It also added two secret bosses that the first release never had.

Which console, also home to Super Smash Bros. Melee, first hosted Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

GameCube owners in Japan got the game first, in July 2004, with North America following in October. It is the only sequel that kept the first Paper Mario's battle system.

Battles in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door are fought before a cheering, item-throwing crowd in which setting?

A theater stage hosts every fight, and its scenery can topple onto the fighters. The crowd grows as Mario levels up, and its cheers refill his Star Power.

In The Thousand-Year Door's nod to Murder on the Orient Express, the penguin Pennington fills which sleuth's role?

Hercule Poirot is the part he plays, investigating thefts and threats aboard a luxury train. Mario does the real solving while the penguin treats him as an apprentice and takes the credit.

Bowser's playable interludes in The Thousand-Year Door rework the ground, underwater and castle music of which game?

Super Mario Bros. supplies the side-scrolling level style for Bowser's scenes, in which he hunts the Crystal Stars himself. He usually turns up one chapter after Mario has left.

In an interlude of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, what does Bowser mistake for Princess Peach in Petalburg?

A poster of the princess, owned by a local Koopa Troopa, is all Bowser finds after tramping across Petal Meadows. He tries talking to it before the truth sinks in.

Which University of Goom archaeology student becomes Mario's first partner in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

Goombella joins after Mario rescues her from a gang of X-Nauts moments after he lands in Rogueport. Her Tattle ability reads out an enemy's health and other stats.

Which timid Koopa from Petalburg joins Mario in The Thousand-Year Door, hoping to avenge his father?

Koops gets a surprise once the dragon is beaten: his father, Koopley, walks out of her gut alive after ten years inside. Mario can hold his shell in place before releasing it.

In The Thousand-Year Door, which wind spirit and retired actress joins Mario once he returns her lost necklace?

Flurrie refuses to be seen without the necklace, so Mario has to win it back from a trio of villainous sisters. Her gusts then blow away fake walls to reveal secret passages.

Which fire-wielding partner in The Thousand-Year Door joins Mario after he finds a bomb she is blamed for losing?

Vivian leaves her bullying older sisters because Mario treats her more kindly than they do. At the time he has lost his name and body, so she has no idea he is the enemy they were sent after.

Which Bob-omb sailor in The Thousand-Year Door agrees to sail again after Mario delivers his late wife's letter?

Bobbery had sworn off the sea because his wife, Scarlette, fell ill and died while he was away on a voyage. A friend kept her last letter back, unable to hand it over while he was grieving.

Which masked thief, who also runs a Rogueport badge shop, is the only optional partner in The Thousand-Year Door?

Ms. Mowz joins only if Mario answers her anonymous request to track down a badge she cannot find. She was the first Paper Mario partner a player could finish the story without.

What decides the colour of the baby Yoshi who hatches as Mario's partner in The Thousand-Year Door?

Time taken before hatching sets the colour: the egg cycles through schemes every few minutes after joining Mario. Whichever one it lands on then stays for the rest of the game.

Which elderly scholar in Rogueport tells Mario where each Crystal Star is hidden in The Thousand-Year Door?

Professor Frankly once taught Kolorado, the explorer from the first Paper Mario. Mario has to call on him every time a new Crystal Star turns up.

Which X-Naut supercomputer falls for Princess Peach and lets her e-mail Mario in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

TEC-XX was designed to be flawless, but a glitch leaves him feeling love and he ends up rebelling against his makers. His watchful camera eye recalls HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Which elderly Magikoopa on a broomstick accompanies Bowser throughout Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

Kammy Koopa is described as the brains behind Bowser, a role she first played as the secondary villain of the original Paper Mario. Bowser insults her to her face all the same.

Which demon, sealed for a millennium, possesses Princess Peach at the climax of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

The Shadow Queen refuses to take orders from the villain who frees her and blasts him with lightning on the spot. She stays invincible until the Crystal Stars carry the world's cheers to Mario.

Which leader of the X-Nauts plots to revive a sealed demon in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

Grodus is left as nothing but a head when the demon he sets free refuses to obey him. He appears to be some kind of machine, though the game never explains where he came from.

Which villain pilots the robot Magnus von Grapple and later poses as the sailor Four-Eyes in The Thousand-Year Door?

Lord Crump fights Mario four times, twice from the cockpit of his personal robot. His sailor disguise lasts until Mario wins a Crystal Star on Keelhaul Key, when he drops it to demand the prize.

Which red dragon terrorises Petalburg and guards the first Crystal Star in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

Hooktail gobbles up spectators in the middle of the fight to win back her health. Two more dragons from her family turn up later in the adventure as bosses.

Which ghost of Creepy Steeple steals Mario's name and body in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

Doopliss can only be beaten once Mario says his name, and he has removed a letter from the on-screen keyboard to stop that. A parrot living in the steeple gives the secret away.

Which pirate spirit guards the Sapphire Star aboard his ship, the Black Skull, in The Thousand-Year Door?

Cortez hands over the gem once beaten, then lends his ship to help Mario fight off an X-Naut assault. His speech is peppered with Spanish words and phrases.

Which Glitz Pit champion in The Thousand-Year Door, a parody of wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, loses his title to Mario?

Rawk Hawk is a classic wrestling heel: he has Mario locked in a disused locker room before their title match. The Crystal Star on his belt also turns out to be a fake.

Which fight promoter in The Thousand-Year Door secretly uses a Crystal Star to drain Glitz Pit fighters' strength?

Grubba uses his machine to become the hulking Macho Grubba once Mario exposes him. A champion wrestler in his youth, he is over 60 and suspiciously fit.

Which ring name does Mario fight under as he climbs the Glitz Pit rankings in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

The Great Gonzales starts in the minor league at Rank 20 and works his way up to the title match. Mario's Yoshi partner later fights in the same arena as The Great Gonzales Jr.

Wearing the L Emblem and W Emblem badges together in The Thousand-Year Door dresses Mario as which character?

Waluigi's purple cap and black overalls appear only when the two badges are worn together. On its own, each badge copies a different character's colours.

Besides HP and FP, which stat can Mario raise by three each time he levels up in The Thousand-Year Door?

Badge Points are spent on equipping badges, which hand Mario new moves and passive bonuses. They top out at 99 here, up from 30 in the first Paper Mario.

In The Thousand-Year Door, which collectibles does the wizard Merlon take three at a time to raise a partner's rank?

Shine Sprites first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine, and 42 of them are hidden across this game. Each upgrade teaches the partner a new move and raises their health.

Which shape can Mario fold into after the first black-chest 'curse' in The Thousand-Year Door, to cross wide gaps?

A paper airplane is the first of four folded forms; a boat, a rolled tube and a paper-thin sideways turn come later. Each is handed over as a so-called curse by a being trapped in a chest.

Which split-second defensive move in The Thousand-Year Door blocks a hit completely and can damage the enemy?

Superguard timing is brutal: the window lasts three frames, a twentieth of a second, against eight for an ordinary guard. A success deals one point of damage back to a foe that touches Mario.

A 2008 lawsuit over an advert for The Thousand-Year Door involved a song from which Quentin Tarantino-written film?

True Romance's studio, Morgan Creek, dropped the case after six days, once it emerged that the advertising agency had licensed the tune.

Which grumpy Rogueport cook blocks Mario's path until he replaces her contact lens in The Thousand-Year Door?

Zess T. is hunting for the dropped lens when Mario steps on it, and she cooks for him once it is replaced. She works with one ingredient at a time until he finds her a cookbook hidden in Creepy Steeple.

In The Thousand-Year Door, the folding gadget on which Mario receives e-mail is modelled on which Nintendo handheld?

Game Boy Advance SP looks give the Mailbox SP its name and clamshell shape. It usually rings with a tune from Super Mario World when a message arrives.

Which winged mail carrier from the first Paper Mario delivers Peach's letter at the start of The Thousand-Year Door?

Parakarry makes only a brief cameo this time, before the adventure has even begun. His old job of carrying Mario across gaps passes to a newborn Yoshi.

Which grim structure stands in the centre of Rogueport's market plaza in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

A gallows looms over the market, a sign that this port is rougher than the towns Mario usually visits. A crime syndicate rules the whole west side.

What launches Mario from icy Fahr Outpost to the X-Naut Fortress in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

A giant cannon called Big Bob does the job, kept in a huge underground chamber beneath a town of Bob-ombs. Mario needs the blessing of two Bob-ombs before it can be fired.

Which studio, also behind the Fire Emblem and WarioWare series, developed Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

Intelligent Systems grew out of a team formed in 1983 to make games for Nintendo, yet Nintendo has never owned it. The studio came back two decades later to develop the remake.

Which 2007 Wii follow-up to The Thousand-Year Door traded turn-based battles for side-scrolling platforming?

Super Paper Mario lets Mario flip between 2D and 3D views instead of fighting in turns. It was also the first new Mario game released for the Wii.

Before its final title was announced, The Thousand-Year Door was known in North America by which working name?

Paper Mario 2 was the North American placeholder, while Japan knew the project as Mario Story 2. The game was first revealed at the 2003 Game Developers Conference.

Which Rogueport crime boss gives Mario blimp tickets for finding his runaway daughter in The Thousand-Year Door?

Don Pianta gives the eloping couple his blessing, then falls sick with grief once his daughter has gone. He ends up retiring and handing the syndicate to her and her new husband.

Which sleepy Bob-omb officer does Mario chase from town to town in Chapter 7 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

General White keeps moving on just before Mario arrives, leaving a trail across places the party has already visited. He is finally found fast asleep at home, and Mario has to jump on him again and again to wake him.

Which boss in The Thousand-Year Door is a swarm of tiny dark creatures that kidnaps the Excess Express passengers?

Smorg forms when a horde of stowaways merges on the roof of the train, and it blows away on the wind once beaten. The only word the creatures ever say is their own name.

Reading whose diary aboard the Excess Express brings an instant Game Over in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

Ghost T. died on the train long ago and haunts Cabin 004, a nod to the number four's link with death in East Asia. He trades a missing blanket for the diary, with a warning not to peek.

What does a potion make Princess Peach in The Thousand-Year Door, letting her sneak a data disk from the X-Nauts?

Invisible is what the potion makes her, brewed by following instructions from the base computer. The disk she takes later reveals what her captors really want her for.

Which optional dungeon under Rogueport ends in a fight with the undead dragon Bonetail in The Thousand-Year Door?

Pit of 100 Trials offers no way to save and a way out only every tenth floor. Enemies in its lower half are especially strong, and many appear nowhere else.

Which rare blue creature on Keelhaul Key drops a healing item each time Mario hits it in The Thousand-Year Door?

Whacka is said to be the last of its kind, and after eight hits it vanishes from the island for good. Its look comes from the arcade game Whac-A-Mole.