Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a video game for the GameCube, and a sequel to Paper Mario which was released three years prior to this game's release. In the game, you take the role of Mario in paper form. Like all Mario RPGs, the game is also has more of a storyline than most Mario games.

Gameplay
Mario's options when battling are jumping, using his hammer, to use special items, using special moves, etc. The partners also have their own unique abilities such as Yoshi being able to eat the opponents, Goombella's ability to give you information on every enemy, and Vivian's ability to hide Mario. You are only able to have one partner out during battle, but you can switch them.

When not battling, each partner also has special and unique abilities - Koops can use his shell to hit or acquire distant items and even hold in place while Mario gets into position, Yoshi will allow Mario to run faster and jump farther while being riden, and Flurrie can blow a giant gust of air to reveal secret passageways.

After you finish a chapter, you are able to play as Princess Peach and then Bowser. First is the Princess's, where you travel through the mothership talking to TEC and sending messages to Mario. Bowser's is more of a platform based minigame where you go across Super Mario Bros. inspired levels as none other than Bowser himself.

FULL cast of characters
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 * Character||Playable||Other information
 * Mario
 * Yes
 * The main character and hero of the game.
 * Princess Peach
 * Ocassionally
 * Peach will be kidnapped by the enemy, and you will control her on the X-Naut mothership.
 * Goombella
 * Yes
 * Goombella is Mario's first parter in the game. Her special ability is giving info on places, characters, and enemies.
 * Koops
 * Yes
 * Koops is the second partner of Mario's. His ability is his shell attacks, including hold.
 * Flurrie
 * Yes
 * Flurrie is the third partner of Mario's. You will find her in the Great Tree area of the game. She can blow things and enemies away.  Outside battle, Mario can hold onto her while she blows things away, in battle she can do this herself.  She cannot be seen without her necklace, despite it being presumably her only article of clothing.
 * Yoshi
 * Yes
 * You'll find him at the Glitz pit. He is Mario's fourth partner. You are able to name the Yoshi to whatever you want, and if you name your file a color name, he'll be that color. For example, if you name the file Red, he will be red. If your file is not a color name, his color will cycle through colors. The color will depend on how long you've had him. He has a scrappy personality and speaks fluent English, despite having only just hatched from his egg.
 * Vivian
 * Yes
 * During the start of the game, she will be your enemy, but will eventually join Mario's party after you help her. She is the fifth partner of Mario. Her ability is to hide in the shadows to protect you from enemies and also to eavesdrop on others.
 * Admiral Bobbery
 * Yes
 * An old Bob-omb who can blow up and regenerate. He is Mario's sixth partner.
 * Ms. Mowz
 * Yes
 * This optional partner will appear off and on throughout the game. Finally, the character will join your party if you find a special item for her. She is Mario's seventh and final partner in the game.
 * Bowser
 * Ocassionally
 * Bowser has a sidestory in the game. In his events, he is able to breathe fire and often has unlimited lives.
 * Sir Grodus
 * No
 * One of the main enemies in the game. He is an X-Naut king who plans to sacrifice Princess Peach to whatever lies behind the Thousand-Year Door.
 * Shadow Queen
 * No
 * The final boss of the game. She is what lies behind the Thousand-Year Door.
 * Professor Frankly
 * No
 * A professor in archaeology. Throughout the game, he will give information on the Crystal Stars to Mario and his team. He also helps beginners.
 * Toadette
 * No
 * Toadette, the female Toad, will occasionly appears and gives information on new abilities and items that Mario has obtained.
 * Rawk Hawk
 * No
 * The champion of the Glitz Pit. He is self-obsessed and plans to defeat Mario to retain his title. He wears what appears to be a crystal star on his belt.
 * Kammy Koopa
 * No
 * Bowser's advisor. She is a Magikoopa, and is thought to replace Kamek from Yoshi's Island.
 * TEC-XX
 * No
 * The main computer in the X-Naut's headquarters. The computer seems to befriend Princess Peach, who teaches the computer about love, and what it is. Peach uses TEC to communicate with Mario and receive info about what the X-Naut's plans are. She also uses him to attempt an escape.
 * Zess T.
 * No
 * A chef in the game who prepares food for Mario. She makes things for you after you replace her contact lens that you break. Unfortunately, she's never fully forgiven Mario for breaking her contact lens, and she shows it by calling Mario various insulting nicknames, such as Stompy.
 * Black Chest Demon
 * No
 * A demon who beneficially curses Mario (thinking that he's giving out a horrible curse). Mario will find four of them througout the whole game, each one will give him a new ability.
 * Hooktail
 * No
 * One of the first main bosses of the game. The dragon has terroized the town of Petalburg. She also engulfs anyone who comes to slay her. Finally, Mario and his team defeat the dragon, and save Koop's dad. She is also vulnerable to anything that starts with "cr" and ends with "icket".
 * Luigi
 * No
 * Mario's brother who is only there to tell stories about his adventures. After listening to all of his stories, you can purchase a book based on them. He also occassionally appears in the audience to assist Mario.
 * Bonetail
 * No
 * One of Hooktail's siblings. He is made entirely out of bones and is found in the 100th floor of the pit of one hundred trials. He also has a huge HP of 250!!! The good thing is that he's an optional boss. Before you fight him, you should have A LOT of health items. The only problem is that you have to go through 99 other floors BEFORE you fight him. After you beat him, you'll get a special gift.
 * TEC-XX
 * No
 * The main computer in the X-Naut's headquarters. The computer seems to befriend Princess Peach, who teaches the computer about love, and what it is. Peach uses TEC to communicate with Mario and receive info about what the X-Naut's plans are. She also uses him to attempt an escape.
 * Zess T.
 * No
 * A chef in the game who prepares food for Mario. She makes things for you after you replace her contact lens that you break. Unfortunately, she's never fully forgiven Mario for breaking her contact lens, and she shows it by calling Mario various insulting nicknames, such as Stompy.
 * Black Chest Demon
 * No
 * A demon who beneficially curses Mario (thinking that he's giving out a horrible curse). Mario will find four of them througout the whole game, each one will give him a new ability.
 * Hooktail
 * No
 * One of the first main bosses of the game. The dragon has terroized the town of Petalburg. She also engulfs anyone who comes to slay her. Finally, Mario and his team defeat the dragon, and save Koop's dad. She is also vulnerable to anything that starts with "cr" and ends with "icket".
 * Luigi
 * No
 * Mario's brother who is only there to tell stories about his adventures. After listening to all of his stories, you can purchase a book based on them. He also occassionally appears in the audience to assist Mario.
 * Bonetail
 * No
 * One of Hooktail's siblings. He is made entirely out of bones and is found in the 100th floor of the pit of one hundred trials. He also has a huge HP of 250!!! The good thing is that he's an optional boss. Before you fight him, you should have A LOT of health items. The only problem is that you have to go through 99 other floors BEFORE you fight him. After you beat him, you'll get a special gift.
 * Mario's brother who is only there to tell stories about his adventures. After listening to all of his stories, you can purchase a book based on them. He also occassionally appears in the audience to assist Mario.
 * Bonetail
 * No
 * One of Hooktail's siblings. He is made entirely out of bones and is found in the 100th floor of the pit of one hundred trials. He also has a huge HP of 250!!! The good thing is that he's an optional boss. Before you fight him, you should have A LOT of health items. The only problem is that you have to go through 99 other floors BEFORE you fight him. After you beat him, you'll get a special gift.
 * One of Hooktail's siblings. He is made entirely out of bones and is found in the 100th floor of the pit of one hundred trials. He also has a huge HP of 250!!! The good thing is that he's an optional boss. Before you fight him, you should have A LOT of health items. The only problem is that you have to go through 99 other floors BEFORE you fight him. After you beat him, you'll get a special gift.

Other games in the series

 * Paper Mario - Paper Mario is the first game in the series that was released on the Nintendo 64 three years prior to this game's release.
 * Super Paper Mario - Super Paper Mario is the third in the series that was released on the Wii three years after this game's release.

Trivia

 * A Toad in the game claims he loves playing Paper Mario, Paper Mario: the Thousand-Year Door (and even claims it has a cool ending), and Fire Emblem. In the end, he rumors of an upcoming game called Super Paper Mario.
 * This is one of the few instances where Yoshi actually speaks
 * During the battle with Rawk Hawk, Mario is referred to by a fan as Jumpman, his name in Donkey Kong.
 * There are a few instances where the characters speak to the player
 * A few of the areas are based on those of Super Mario Bros.
 * Mario receives email on a device that resembles a Game Boy Advance SP,called a Mailbox SP
 * He also has two ringtones. One is the intro to Super Mario World and the other is the ice world from Super Mario Bros. 3.