Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door/Party Members

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the player takes control of Mario along with characters he can meet and befriend who will join his party called "Partners." Partners can be used in battle to attack enemies, and they also have abilities that can be used in the field to help explore or discover secrets. Mario can meet a total of 7 partners, but only 1 may be active in battle/on the field at a time.

Overview
Each character has two amounts of damage they can inflict; the first one if the player fails an action command, the second if they succeed (more information on battling and action commands can be found on the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door/Battle Information page).

For example, Goombella's initial base power is 1 x2. This means if the action command is successful she performs two attacks, each dealing 1 damage. Otherwise, she performs a single attack dealing 1 damage. In contrast, Koops' base power is listed as 1/2, as he only ever performs one attack. Depending on whether or not the action command is successful determines whether or not he deals 1 damage or 2.

Every attack has a list of details on them which determines how the attacks, attack and the enemy are all affected. Below is a legend for what some of the less clear ones mean;
 * Can hit anyone: Can hit any enemy regardless of height or position.
 * Can flip enemies: Can flip over enemies such as Koopas and Beetles to remove their defense
 * Can flip Cleft enemies: Can flip Cleft type enemies, but not other types that can be flipped
 * Disperses mist: Removes the mist stage hazard which causes everyone to occasionally miss
 * Does not make contact: The user will not be hurt by fire or spikes
 * ... But Vulnerable to Side-Spikes: Bristle and Dark Bristle will still hurt the attacker.
 * Explosion Based Attack: Some enemies are weak to explosion and take 1 extra damage, while others are immune to them
 * Fire Based Attack: Some enemies are weak to fire and take 1 extra damage, while others are immune to or healed by them
 * Ground Attack: Can only hit the first enemy on the ground.
 * Jump Attack: Can target any enemy that is flying or on the ground, but not on the ceiling such as Swoopers
 * Makes contact: If the enemy is made of fire or is covered in spikes, the attack will be negated and the user will take damage instead
 * Makes contact from above: If the enemy is made of fire or has a head spike on it, the attack will be negated and the user will take damage instead
 * Piercing: Ignores the enemy's defense
 * Power Drop: Attack gradually gets weaker. See Yoshi for full details.
 * Random targets: The player does not choose which enemies are affected

Mario
Everyone's favorite plumber is back for another fantastic adventure! While relaxing at home, Mario received a letter from Princess Peach with a map to hidden treasure, and invites him to hunt the treasure with her in Rogue Port. But when Mario arrives Peach is no where to be found, and soon a plot beings to unravel connected to the treasure map, artifacts known as the Crystal Stars and a mysterious door beneath Rogue Port.

Mario is the character that the player will always have direct control over and is unique compared to other party members. Mario has two unique attack commands; Jump and Hammer, and each can be customized depending on the Badges Mario has equipped.

Mario is the only character who will levels up in the party, with partners having "ranks" instead (see partners for details). Every 100 experience he gets will allow him to level up one of his attributes; Heart Points (HP) by 10, Flower Points (FP) by 5 or Badge Points (BP) by 3. Mario's attacks are determined by which Boots and Hammers the player has found. The Super Boots are found in chapter 2, the Super Hammer is found in chapter 3, the Ultra Boots are found in chapter 6 and the Ultra Hammer is found after chapter 6 but before chapter 7.

Lastly, on the field Mario can jump by pressing or use his hammer by pressing. He can also get first strikes on enemies by hitting them on the field. When Mario finds new boots and hammers, he also gains new abilities which can also be used as a first strike.

Mario's Jump Moves
Mario's first moves are his jump moves. A single jump is weaker than his hammer, however successful preforming an action command will allow Mario to attack a second time, evening out the damage. Additionally, most of the badge moves give jump attacks status effects, such as sleep or soft.

Jump attacks are more effective for unarmored enemies or Koopas who will be flipped over if jumped on. Jump attacks are ineffective against armored foes or those with spikes or made of fire, as Mario will just hurt himself and not cause any damage to the enemy.

Mario starts with a single jump ability and learns a new one for each boot upgrade he gets. All other jump moves are accessible only be equipping the proper badge.

Mario's Hammer Moves
Mario's other moves are his hammer attacks. While the Hammer is stronger than a single jump attack, most of them can only hit the first enemy on the ground, and thus have less range. However, they make up for this with special effects more effective against certain enemies

Hammer attacks are more effective for armored enemies or enemies that will hurt Mario if he tries to jump on them. Just like Mario's jump skill, starts with a single Hammer ability and learns a new one for each new hammer he finds. All other hammer moves are accessible only be equipping the proper badge.

Partners
Mario will meet and befriend several characters who will join his party. These are known as "Partners." Partners can be used in battle to attack enemies, and they also have abilities that can be used in the field to help explore or discover secrets.

Unlike Mario, Partners do not gain experience or levels to become stronger and cannot gain new abilities from badges. Instead, they can "rank up" when Mario finds three Shine Sprites and takes them to Merlon, whose house is right next to Prof. Frankly.

Ranking up a partner increases their HP, base damage and gives them a new move in battle. Every partner can increase their rank to Super Rank initially, but Mario must find a special item to allow Merlon to rank partners up to Ultra Rank.

Goombella
''A pro at headbonking! She looks up enemy stats and HP ─In game description''

Goombella is Mario's first partner in the game. She is a sassy, intelligent, valley girl goomba who studied at the University of Goom to become an archaeologist. After asking around Rogueport about the Crystal Stars, she attracts the attention of Lord Crump who attempts to kidnap her to find out all she knows. After she is saved by Mario, the two of them finds her old professor who knows about the Crystal Stars and the Thousand-Year door.

Goombella can give you hints in the field. By pressing while next to a character or object Goombella will give you information on the person/object. Otherwise, pressing will have Goombella give you information about the area.

Along with giving Mario information in the overworld, she can give Mario information about the enemies he fights, too. Goombella's inital rank skill "Tattle" allows her to read up on any enemies encountered, adding them to the Tattle Log. Enemies that are recorded will always show their HP in battle.

Two important notes about the Tattle Log is that some enemies can only be found once in the game, but if you fail to Tattle on them you can find their entries in Prof. Frink's garbage can. Also when an enemy is recorded, it remains recorded even if the player flees combat. This is useful information when fighting challenging enemies (such as the lower levels of the Pit of 100 Trials) as you can avoid wasting a turn by Tattling and then fleeing combat before re-entering the fight.

Goombella's action commands are based on hitting just before landing on an enemy.

Koops
''A shell attack master! He has a Defense of 1 ─In game description Koops is a cowardly Koopa teen from Petal Meadows. His father went to defeat the dragon Hooktail ten years ago, and has not been heard from since. After hearing that Mario plans to take on Hooktail, Koops eventually works up the courage to ask Mario to help him avenge his father and gain more confidence in himself.

In Battle Koops basically acts a secondary hammer move set, and is useful for the entire game. He has a low cost attack the hits all enemies on the ground, can protect Mario from attacks, and all his attacks make him immune to Bob-omb's explosion damage if their fuse is lit.

Koops is the only partner who has 1 defense without the use of buffs or badges. However, he has one of the lowest Max HP, with his ultra rank only having 25. Worse still, he can be flipped over like other Koopas, which will drop his defense by 1. Preforming a defense action can prevent this, but otherwise you'll have to wait before Koops flips himself back up.

In the fields you can press to shoot Koops out in front of you to retrieve items and hit switches. If you hold, he will hold his position until you release it, and be able to hit things that were behind Mario when he was first launched. If he hits an enemy he will perform a first strike dealing his max damage.

Koops' action commands all involve a meter with a star on it. You must hold and release it when the star is lit up.

Madame Flurrie
''A double threat with her bulk and gale-force breath! ─In game description Madame Flurrie is a cloud spirit who was once an actress, but after growing tired of the stage, she retired to Boggly Woods to be near the adorable Punies. After Mario finds her lost Necklace, she decides she wants to join Mario's party to help the Punies and add a little more excitement to her life.

Flurrie can blow sheets of paper off of the environment. She can also make enemies spin, preventing them from attacking Mario for a short period of time.

In Combat Flurrie is an exceptionally good tank, having not only the second highest HP of all partners, but her super rank skill, Lip Lock, restores her own HP and pierces enemy defenses. If you're worried about Mario taking too much damage, put Flurrie up front may be a good idea.

Unlike other characters, only half of Flurrie's action commands have a common theme tying them together. Her Gale Force and Lip Lock moves have gauges that can be filled up by holding but holding it too long will cause the gauge to decrease.

Yoshi Kid
''A hotshot at multiple attacks that each deal low damage. ─In game description

A Yoshi kid fully of energy and always looking for a good fight. Mario saves him from a hotdog vendor who wants to cook him while he's still an egg. After he hatches he decides to fight alongside Mario, aka The Great Gonzales!

Yoshi moves twice as fast as Mario. Press while riding him to flutter jump. This move enables you to cross big gaps. Press again or  to dismount.

Yoshi's color also changes depending on the time when you first get him and when he hatches (after running away from the Armored Harriers). The possible colors are green (0-6 minutes), red (6-9), blue (9-11), orange (11-15), pink (15-18), black (18-19) and white (19-20). After 20 minutes the cycle resets.

In combat Yoshi is a toolbox fighter who has a way of dealing with just about every enemy in the game. His basic attack is a multi-jump that hits foes 4/5/6 times, his gulp is a piercing move that hits two enemies, mini-egg can hit enemies no matter where they are and may debuff their attack, and Stampede is a non-elemental piercing attack that hits every enemy. The downside to Yoshi is that his moves cost a lot of FP, and can eat through your supply fast. Most of Yoshi's action commands require you to tap or hold. The only exception is his third move that requires hitting when a star lights up.

Finally, Yoshi has special attack properties that will be referred to as "Power Drop." Any attack with Power Drop can hit multiple times and usually only hits for 1 damage. However, if his attack power is increased by a badge or buff, the attack power will slowly decline with each attack. For example, if Yoshi's attack power is 3 and he hits an enemy 4 times, the damage Yoshi does will be 3, 2, 1, and 1. If an enemy with defense is damaged by even one of these attacks, they will at least take 1 damage from every hit.


 * The in-game description for Stampede says it only hits ground enemies, but it actually hits all enemies.

Vivian
''An expert at fire attacks and dodge moves! ─In game description

Vivian is the youngest of three sisters known as The Shadow Sirens, and is constantly abused by her eldest sister, Beldam. While initially an enemy of Mario, Vivian helps Mario, not knowing it's him, because he was the first person to show her kindness. She eventually joins the party even after learning that she's been helping Mario.

Vivian can drag Mario into a round shadow. In this state objects will pass over him (including enemies), they can eavesdrops on the conversations of certain people (mostly birds), and certain people will not realize anyone is around. You cannot move in shadow state, but pressing again will return you to normal.

In combat Vivian can attack any enemy regardless of height or position. While her attacks do 1 less damage than Mario's other partners, both of her offensive attacks can inflict burn which will deal damage to enemies at the end of the next 3 rounds. Additionally, they both can hit any enemy on the field, regardless of height.

Vivian's action commands revolve around picking mystery buttons (befitting her nature as a shadow.) When the button is revealed, you must press it to preform a successful action.

Admiral Bobbery
''A demolitions expert with a taste for massive explosions! ─In game description

Admiral Bobbery is a salty, old sailor with a tragic past. After his wife died while he was out at sea, he has not set foot on a ship and spends his time wasting away in grief. When Mario needs a navigator to guide him to Keelhaul Key, he seek out Bobbery, and while he initially turns him down, he eventually yields and helps Mario reach the island. After a near-death experience, Bobbery decides to join Mario as the final member of his party.

In the field you can press to pick Bobbery up, and release to throw him. He will walk a few steps forward and then set his fuse. You can set the fuse prematurely by pressing again, or you can hold. The explosion can break cracked walls and initiate a first strike.

While all of Bobbery's action commands are executed by pressing, they all require different methods of timing to preform them correctly. Bobbery can get rid of stage mist by using "Bomb," "Bob-ombast," or simply by Appealing.

Ms. Mowz
''A master thief who can steal anything from anyone! ─In game description

Ms. Mowz is a world traveling thief you is in search for the rarest and most valuable badges. She is very free-spirited character who enjoys flirting, particularly with Mario. She also runs a badge shop in Rogueport called "Lovely Howz of Badges."

Ms. Mowz is the only optional party member, and thus she is not required to win the game. You can unlock her any time after beating chapter 4 by going to the Trouble Center and selecting the trouble called "Elusive Badge" posted by the client "????". When you solve the trouble, Ms. Mowz will join your party.

She can tell you if any collectible objects are around. When you press, she will point in the direction of the object. Use this to help zero in on it. She will not tell you how to get the object.

Ms. Mowz's action commands will either require the player to alternate between pressing buttons or to make sure her action meter is near full, but not completely full. Ms. Mowz is the only character whose basic attack ignores defense, so she doesn't need Flower Points to get through an enemy's defense.