Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: 12 Things To Know Before You Start

As with most Mario RPGs, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is generally rather easy – save for a couple of somewhat difficult boss fights, that is. Still, there’s a great deal of helpful information you should know before you start playing the game.

If you wind up losing to an enemy or boss, you have no choice but to restart from your previous save location. To save you time and prevent this from happening, we’ve put together a list of 12 things you should know before you start playing Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Guide: 12 Things To Know Before You Start

The battle system is different

If you're playing Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in 2024, just know that the battle system is slightly different to some other Paper Mario games.

Ever since the release of Paper Mario: Sticker Star in 2012, the series has consistently required the use of expendable items to perform any attacks against enemies. These items took the form of stickers in Sticker Star, cards in Color Splash, and Boots and Hammers with limited durability in The Origami King. That’s not the case in this game, though – you’ve got access to your Jump and Hammer attacks at all times.

Really, TTYD is an iteration of Super Mario RPG's combat and improves on the original Paper Mario's battle system. There are much fewer restrictions.

Use your Badges

Your Jump and Hammer attacks aren’t all that you have available: in this game, Mario can equip Badges, in-game items that augment his stats and give him brand-new moves. This adds an extra layer of strategy: will you use your Badge Points (BP) to give Mario new attacks, or will you use them to buff his stats? Badges have all sorts of uses.

If you haven’t played the original Paper Mario or The Thousand-Year Door, we’d recommend a look at our full list of Badges.

Always stock up on healing items

More than a few of the bosses in this game are capable of whittling down your HP very quickly. You can technically use Flower Points (FP) and Special Moves to restore your health, but you won’t always have access to these options.

Therefore, it’s a really good idea to stock up on Mushrooms, Super Shrooms, and Ultra Shrooms throughout the story – that way you’ll always have an out if you’re surprised by an unexpected boss battle.

Use Goombella’s Tattle

Goombella is your very first partner, and her ability to Tattle remains useful throughout the entire game. In battle, she can reveal an enemy’s HP – and she often provides you with helpful hints, including that opponent’s weakness.

In the overworld, Goombella will tell you about nearby characters as well as the area you’re in. If you’re ever stuck and need direction, some of the hints she offers really come in handy!

Swap out your partners in battle

Each of Mario’s partners has their own ability that makes them useful in battle – and each one has their weaknesses, too. For instance, Goombella can’t hurt spiked enemies, while Koops struggles against flying ones. You’ll want to swap out your partner on the fly to make the most of each battle!

There’s a Quick Change Badge sold by Dazzle in Rogueport Sewers – in cases where your current partner can’t deal with the enemy on-screen, Quick Change lets you swap out your partner without wasting a turn.

Beat as many enemies as you can

There’s quite a bit of backtracking in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, which inevitably means you’ll be running into lots of enemies. We’d recommend defeating as many as you can – and it’s not just because you’ll get experience points for each foe you defeat. When you flee from a battle, you’ll drop Coins that can’t be easily recovered without risking entering the battle again. These lost Coins add up, and there are a lot of helpful items you’ll want to save up and buy.

Basically, if you get into a battle, just take them down and you'll be golden.

Use Yoshi to run faster in the overworld

It’s easy to forget this one, but after you recruit Yoshi as a partner in Chapter 3, remember to hop on his back to increase your movement speed. As we mentioned above, there’s a lot of backtracking in this game, and riding on Yoshi will speed things up and help you avoid running into enemies on your way.

Unlock the shortcut pipes

In the game’s later Chapters, you can unlock shortcut pipes that can take you back to certain areas. To access them, you’ll need to head to the west part of Rogueport and slip down the grate. From there, take the pipe in the background and make your way down the stairs. You’ll need a Hammer upgrade to destroy the blocks, but once you do, these pipes are huge time-savers.

Remember to use them during side quests and the like to cut down on travel time.

Use your Special Moves

After you collect some of the game’s Crystal Stars, you’ll gain access to Special Moves. These Special Moves require Star Power to use, which you gain by properly inputting Action Commands during battle. Once your Star Gauge is full, though, those Action Commands go to waste because they won't be filling up your meter anymore!

We’d recommend using Special Moves to clear out several enemies at once, especially against bosses. Have a look at our guide for a full list of Special Moves.

Pay attention to the Trouble Center

At the end of every Chapter, new side quests are posted to the Trouble Center which is located on the east side of Rogueport. Many of these offer Coins as a reward. As we mentioned before, money is somewhat scarce in this game, so it’s well worth your while to complete side quests and earn some extra cash. Furthermore, several of the side quests here give out prizes that let you access more mini-games at the Pianta Parlor. One of them even lets you access an optional party member!

If you’d like to see a list of all the Trouble Center side quests, check out our guide.

Practice Action Commands

We've established that Action Commands fill up the Star Gauge, so you’ll want to be as proficient with these as possible. That being said, there’s a way to take your Action Command skill to the next level: Stylish Moves.

Stylish Moves are essentially extra action commands that add even more Star Power to your gauge. Some Stylish Moves are rather difficult to time properly, but the payoff is certainly there if you manage to pull them off. We've got a guide on how to perform all Stylish Moves which should give you a helping hand.

If Mario is in danger, have your partner help!

If Mario’s health is low but your partner is okay, we’d recommend swapping their places in battle. Using the 'Y' button, you can change the position of Mario and his partner, meaning Mario will be in the back and his partner in the front. Swapping places makes Mario slightly less likely to be on the receiving end of enemy attacks.

Each partner has a different HP stat, so be sure to look at each one before deciding who to use as a shield for Mario.

For more hints, tips, and guides, check out our full Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door walkthrough.