Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: All Star Powers & Special Moves

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario has access to a wide variety of attacks. These include Jump attacks, Hammer swings, and much more – including newly-introduced special moves that utilize the Crystal Stars. Every time you clear a Chapter, Mario will gain access to a new Special Move, and each one is useful in its own unique way.

In this guide, we’ve put together a list of every Special Move in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, how to use it, and how to obtain it. Let’s-a-go!

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Star Power

What is Star Power?

Star Power (SP) is a returning mechanic introduced in the original Paper Mario on Nintendo 64. Every time Mario obtains a Crystal Star and clears a chapter, his maximum Star Power will increase. Special Moves require Star Power to use, and the amount required depends on the Special Move in question.

How to restore Star Power

To regain Star Power, Mario and his partner must execute Action Commands for their attacks with good timing. They can also use the Appeal option under Tactics to earn a bit of Star Power at the cost of their turn.

Furthermore, each of Mario and his partner’s moves have hidden Action Commands that, when used properly, earn even more Star Power for the gauge. For a list of these hidden Action Commands, check out our Stylish Moves guide.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Special Moves

What is a Special Move?

A Special Move is an attack or skill that consumes Star Power. These range from powerful AOE spells to healing magic, and they ignore evasion and most defensive stats.

All Special Moves in TTYD

Below we've listed every single Special Move you will unlock in The Thousand-Year Door, including how much SP it will cost to cast, when you unlock it, and what it does.

• Sweet Treat (1 SP): Your very first Special Move, which you unlock after getting the Magical Map for the first time. For this move, Mario will aim at icons that fall from the screen. These icons restore HP and FP, so do your best to aim at those and collect as many as possible. Avoid hitting the Poison Mushroom, however – it’ll stun you and prevent you from collecting treats for a moment. It’s generally best to use Sweet Treat as a last-resort healing option if you’re out of healing items.

• Earth Tremor (2 SP): You’ll unlock this move after recovering the first Crystal Star in Chapter 1. It creates an earthquake that damages every enemy, including flying ones. Press the attack button with good timing several times in a row to increase Earth Tremor’s damage and range.

• Clock Out (2 SP): You unlock this move in Chapter 2 after recovering the second Crystal Star. This Special Move tosses a huge bomb that will immobilize opponents if executed properly. It won’t always work depending on the enemy you use it against, but it can bring great benefits if you manage to pull it off!

• Power Lift (3 SP): Unlocked in Chapter 3 after recovering the third Crystal Star. Select as many panels as possible while avoiding the Poison Mushrooms to receive Attack and Defense buffs. This is great for powering yourself up against tough bosses!

• Art Attack (4 SP): This Special Move is unlocked after receiving the fourth Crystal Star, which happens in Chapter 4. Use the joystick to draw a loop around enemies – every enemy caught inside will take damage. There is a time limit, however, so act fast!

• Sweet Feast (5 SP): You’ll receive this Special Move in Chapter 5 after you recover the fifth Crystal Star. It’s essentially an upgraded version of Sweet Feast with the potential to restore even more health and FP. Remember to avoid hitting the Poison Mushrooms!

• Showstopper (2SP): Unlocked after receiving the sixth Crystal Star in Chapter 6. Follow all the button inputs on-screen. The more of them you input correctly, the higher the chance that Showstopper will immediately destroy all enemies on-screen.

• Supernova: You’ll unlock the final Special Move in Chapter 7 after obtaining the seventh Crystal Star. Tap the attack button and this move will deal high damage to all enemies on-screen.

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