Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door - Frequently Asked Questions

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is the excellent remake just released exclusively for Nintendo Switch of the classic Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door for Gamecube. Many puzzles and mysteries have the same solutions as before, but others have changed with the revamped version, including various modifications to both the missions and even the text and dialogue.

Whether you can't remember how to progress (normal, it's been twenty years), or if it's your first time with the most beloved Paper Mario and you find yourself stuck or in trouble, in this guide we'll be answering your most frequently asked questions. How to use a certain item, how to get a hidden key, weapon or medal, how to decipher a puzzle... We have been writing everything down in our travel diary. Use ctrl+F to search and we hope to get an answer. And if not? Leave us your question in the comments and we'll add it.

[FAQ] Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for Switch

Don't fold in the face of adversity upon arriving in Rogueport! Here are a lot of tips, advice, strategy notions and, above all, answers.

How many acts are there in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and how long is it?

The Nintendo Switch remake will take you a little longer than the original Gamecube game because it has a few extras and new features, but the length of the adventure itself is pretty much the same: about 25 hours at full speed and a little over 30 hours if you stop with a lot of enemies and try to complete extras, secrets and medals.

If you've already seen the credits you won't fear spoilers. These are the chapters (well, acts, as it's a theatre play) of the game:

1. Chapter 1: Castle and Dragon


2. Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree


3. Chapter 3: Of Glitz and Glory


4. Chapter 4: For Pigs the Bell Tolls


5. Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates


6. Chapter 6: 3 Days of Excess


7. Chapter 7: Mario Shoots the Moon


8. Chapter 8: The Thousand-Year Door

★ What are MPs and SPs?

While by now you'll understand that HP are Heart Points and FP are Flower Points (what in other RPGs are usually health and magic), you may not fully understand what the other two parameters that come into play are. And no, they don't have to do with defence and attack or strength, as those points work behind the scenes.

MPs are Medal Points, and they mark how many medals Mario can equip. Some 'take' one point, others zero, and the most expensive three or more. As Mario's level increases, you can equip more and better medals, and since there are no defence or attack points, it's a way to progress the hero and customise your play style, as some medals add a lot to those aspects, including new moves.

SPs, on the other hand, mark Star Power. This is directly linked to the number of Crystal Stars earned and other achievements, up to a total of 8 SPs. In turn, Star Power is used to execute Special Attacks in combat, which consume 1 to 6 SP points. Remember that if you keep the crowd happy with stunts and good commands, your SP will go up faster and you will be able to use the specials again.

★ What are the Shine Sprites for?

The main collectible in the game, in terms of hidden objects, are the Shine Sprites. Suns (which are used to level up your teammates and unlock the sound library) are fewer in each level and are usually hidden in more obvious blocks, while medals are everywhere.

The star pieces, which you'll collect plenty of along the way, serve as bargaining chips for the more special medals held by Merlon, the collector who awaits you at Rogueport's undergrounds, just on the left.

★ How to switch the new music to the original Gamecube music

The Nintendo Switch version features not only crispier graphics, but also remastered music with richer arrangements of instruments. If you played the classic and want to remember its tunes exactly as they were 20 years ago, stop by the Lovely Howz of Badges in Rogueport. Very early in the game, you can buy the badge "Nostalgic Music" from the store. It costs only 1 coin and takes up 0 MP, so you don't have to skimp...

★ How to unlock Ms. Mowz, the secret character

Aside from one of many who kiss Mario in this adventure, Ms. Mowz is a charming, stealthy and heeled mouse. She's also the seventh partner Mario can add to his team. Yay!

Once you get the fourth Star Crystal by clearing Act 4, a new request will appear in the Trouble Center list with the title "rare badge". It's quite mysterious, as the sender is unknown, but it tells you that "for more information, I'm on the roof of Zess T.'s house in Rogueport's square".

If you go to the cook's rooftop from the inn, you'll see that it's not a scary enemy, but the sneaky little mouse. Her request is rather vague as she basically sends you back to Hooktail Castle, but we can tell you exactly what you have to do. You must climb to the top of the tower, across the entire castle and its mechanisms, to the place where you faced the dragon. In the original game, Mario would throw an exclamation in the centre of the room, but this time it's been removed: you'll have to run into a transparent obstacle and blow with Flurrie to reveal the hidden chest.

Take the rare medal back to Ms. Mowz and she will decide to join your adventure. Also, the rare medal was hidden by her to test you and you get to keep it as a gift. This is FX Attack C (B in the original), which consumes no MP and allows you to hear mouse noises when you hammer.

• NOTE: Although you can unlock Ms. Mowz slightly earlier, we recommend you wait to do it at the same time as the Up Arrow quest (in the next point), to save yourself the double walk.

★ Get the Up Arrow: How to Level Up Party Members Even Further

You'll already be familiar with Merlon, the Rogueport sorcerer who levels up your party mates. However, once you've paid three Shine Sprites for each member, you'll wonder if there are any more companions left... or any more levels. At this point, both are likely to happen.

To unlock the second level for party members, once you have Bobbery in your ranks after Act 5, Merlon will let you know that there is something else to do in XXX Castle.

If you return to the castle, don't go up floors: go to the end of the ground floor, where you got the black key for the curse, and break the crack in the back wall with Bobbery. If you give the Up Arrow to Merlon, he will take the red crystal ball out of the attic, which can be used to level up your team members once more (and at the same price of three Shine Sprites per level).

• NOTE: If you haven't already done so, we recommend that you take advantage of the trip to unlock the secret character Ms. Mowz (in the previous point), to save yourself from taking the same walk twice.

★ How to beat the Iron Adonis Twins

In your climb to the top of the fighter leaderboard in the Dojo City Coliseum, as a contender for the Halcoman Champion's Belt (and the Star Crystal in its buckle, for that matter), you will inevitably come up against the dreaded Iron Adonis Twins.

Tough as nails, they are seemingly impossible to defeat, as none of your attacks (including specials and items) will even scratch them. As will happen to you in other situations during your adventures, the only solution here is to... run away. And that's not for cowards, but for strategists.

Remember that coloured egg you hatched in the locker room? Well, it's time to check again to see if it has hatched. When it does, you'll meet Yoshi (though you can name him whatever you want), undoubtedly one of the most charismatic characters in the game. Aside from being a joker and helping you deal with larger gaps between platforms, Yoshi is capable of gobbling up just about anything in combat, only to throw it back. Yes, including rocky enemies, fire enemies, spiky enemies, gigantic enemies... You know how to defeat the Iron Adonis Twins - go get 'em!

★ How to change Yoshi's colour

Speaking of Yoshi (which you can actually name whatever you want), the dinosaur is probably the most beloved companion in this adventure and the one you use the most, for the sake of getting around the map faster. Aside from his sassy comments and his admiration for the Great Gonzales, his design is cool and unique in the whole Marian universe. Also, like many other yoshis, he can have many different colours. But is it something you can customise?

Yes, it is. Although it is not possible to change Yoshi's colour once he has hatched, you can decide before he hatches. This is a trick that worked in the Gamecube version and, judging by the result in our game to get the red Yoshi you see in the picture, it still works in the Switch remaster.

Yoshi's colour is decided by the time between when the coloured egg joins your party (when you rescue it from above the hot dog stand in Dojo City) and when it finally hatches and joins your party with its crest as a playable companion.

Yoshi's colour according to hatching time

• Green: Up to 6 minutes


• Red: 6 to 9 minutes


• Blue: 9 to 11 minutes


• Orange: 11 to 15 minutes


• Pink: 15 to 18 minutes


• Black: 18 to 19 minutes


• White: 19 to 20 minutes

This order is repeated in cycle from 20 minutes onwards. What colour is your favourite Yoshi?

★ How to get through the spike room in the basement of Rogueport

Exploring the underground area of Rogueport, where the Thousand Year Door is hidden, you'll come across a room where they've set up a lethal trap: spikes come out of the ground and you don't have time to run to the other end to open the chest. Since we've been talking about Yoshi, and he's able to carry Mario on his mount much faster, you might think that's the solution, right?

Well, you can save yourself the trouble, because there's no time either. To get that chest you have to wait until you have Vivian in your ranks, and with her witchy trick you can shadow down every time the spikes come out so you can make progress bit by bit. Very convenient, "isn't it, darling?"

The prize? The Anti-Spike badge, of course.

How to dress Mario as Luigi, Wario and Waluigi

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, there are two badges that use 0 MP to customise Mario's clothes. One is Luigi's L Emblem and the other is Wario's W Emblem. And once you have both, if you combine them... it will be like doing the sum Wa+Luigi.

• L Emblem: Change Mario's clothes for Luigi's. You'll find it in a chest at the back of the Palace of Light, on the left ledge of the secret room.


• W Emblem: Swap Mario's clothes for Wario's clothes. You can buy it for 432 coins from the merchant Charlieton in the main square. Yes, the price has gone up, it cost 360 coins in the original.


• If you equip Emblem L and Emblem W at the same time: Swap Mario's clothes for Waluigi's.

Do you have a typical Paper Mario for Switch tip or question? Feel free to share it with other players!