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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

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Title Screen

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Also known as: Paper Mario RPG (JP), Paper Mario: La Porte Millénaire (FR)
Developers: Nintendo, Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: GameCube
Released in JP: July 22, 2004
Released in US: October 1, 2004
Released in EU: November 12, 2004
Released in AU: November 18, 2004


AnimationsIcon.png This game has unused animations.
DevTextIcon.png This game has hidden development-related text.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
ItemsIcon.png This game has unused items.
MusicIcon.png This game has unused music.
TextIcon.png This game has unused text.
DebugIcon.png This game has debugging material.
RegionIcon.png This game has regional differences.


ProtoIcon.png This game has a prototype article
PrereleaseIcon.png This game has a prerelease article
NotesIcon.png This game has a notes page

The sequel to the hit Nintendo 64 role-playing game, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door takes everything that made the original so great and cranked it up to eleven. Featuring a spiced-up battle system, all-new worlds, and well-developed characters and humor, it quickly became a fan favorite - so much so that all future Paper Mario games would be compared to it.

Hmmm...
To do:

Sub-Pages

Read about prototype versions of this game that have been released or dumped.
Prototype Info
Read about prerelease information and/or media for this game.
Prerelease Info
Miscellaneous tidbits that are interesting enough to point out here.
Notes
PMTTYDEarlyMario2.png
Early Graphics
A look into the development process.
Pmttyd koopa curse.png
Unused Items
Items, badges, and key items.
TextIcon.png
Unused Text
They won't shut up!
PMTTYDOkooru.png
Unused Enemies
Missing in action.
PMTTYDBListRightSideStage.png
Offscreen Objects
Quite a lot goes on backstage where the audience can't see.
PMTTYDtwilight7.PNG
Unused Geometry
Some cool stuff that nobody can see.
PMTTYDShopBooJP.png
Regional Differences
Looks like the localization team had a great sense of humor.

Debug Mode

Paper Mario TTYD US Build Date.png PMTTYDCrashScreenScreenshot1.png PMTTYDCrashScreenScreenshot2.png

At the title screen, press X, B, R, B, Y, L. Press and hold Z to display the game's build date. A crash debug screen will also appear whenever the game, well, crashes, in which the crash report scrolls up screen over the course of about 10 seconds (and cannot be scrolled back down or seen again once it goes off screen). The mode does not appear to be functional in any of the demos, and the build date doesn't exist in the demos built before the Japanese version.

(Source: PistonMiner)

Build Date

Hmmm...
To do:
Check the filenames of the USA demos on every disc they appear on.

The build date can be found in the dol.

Version Build Date
USA pre-final demo
(filename: zz_PaperMario2_game.tgc,
header name: 21 2004.06.21 MarioSt_MN7_NOA_20040619a.dpf)
from USA multi-demo discs 17 and 18
None
Japan pre-final demo
(filename: PaperMarioRPG.tgc)
from Japanese multi-demo discs Jul. 2004, Aug. 2004 and Sep. 2004
None
Japan Jun 17 2004 17:20:01
USA Sep 9 2004 09:34:02
USA post-final demo
(filename: zz_PaperMario2_game.tgc)
from USA multi-demo discs 19-22, and 35
Sep 18 2004 17:37:16
Europe demo
(filename: zz_PaperMario2_PALDEMO_20040924.tgc)
from European multi-demo disc Nov. 2004
Sep 23 2004 13:32:41
Europe Sep 26 2004 15:37:03

It isn't clear whether the USA or Japanese pre-final demo was built first, but there is something that could suggest the USA demo was built first: the function gcDvdCheckThread, during what looks like the reset process, is set to write "リセット処理開始", which roughly translates to "start reset processing", to the console using OSReport. This code and the string don't appear in any other version of the game.

(gcDvdCheckThread info: Zephiles)

Unused Music

  • Demo Title

Internal Track Name: BGM_FILE_MENU1
File Name: sys_mmc1_32k.stm
This is used in demo versions of the game (for E3 and the Multi-Game Interactive Demo Disc demos) as the title screen. It's still in the retail game's disc, though.

  • Riverside Station

Internal Track Name: BGM_STG6_EKI1
File Name: stg_eki1_32k.stm
eki is the three-letter abbreviation used for Riverside Station, so that's probably where this would have been used. In the final version, the inside of Riverside Station has no music at all, just ambient sounds.

Lost Tracks

A list of internal track names that reference files that are no longer on the disc or are undefined.

Internal Track Name File Name Notes
Boss Tracks
BGM_BOSS_STG4_FAKEMARIO1 None Doopliss (in Fake Mario form) was supposed to have a unique track.
BGM_BOSS_STG5_SHIP1 btl_sif1_32k.stm Intended for the second Lord Crump battle.
Event Tracks
BGM_EVT_HAPPY1 evt_hpy1_32k.stm Happy event!
BGM_EVT_JIN1 evt_dim1_32k.stm An event track for either Creepy Steeple or Twilight Town.
BGM_EVT_KUPPA2 Blank A second event track for Bowser.
BGM_EVT_NOK1 evt_nok1_32k.stm Meant for an event in Petalburg. This track is present in the demo version.
BGM_EVT_REST1 evt_rst1_32k.stm A longer track for resting?
BGM_EVT_STG2_MORI1 evt_fsg1_32k.stm Event track for Boggly Woods in Chapter 2.
BGM_EVT_STG2_PUNI1 Blank Lost Puni event track.
BGM_EVT_STG2_TAIJU1 evt_okk1_32k.stm Event track for the Great Tree in Chapter 2.
BGM_EVT_STG3_URON1 evt_urn1_32k.stm Event track for Glitzville in Chapter 3.
BGM_EVT_STG3_TOUGI1 evt_tug1_32k.stm Event track for the Glitz Pit in Chapter 3.
BGM_EVT_STG4_FAKEMARIO1 evt_fmo1_32k.stm Event track for Doopliss in Fake Mario form.
BGM_EVT_STG5_VS_3RD_ENEMY evt_v3d1_32k.stm Meant for the battle between Lord Crump and Cortez.
BGM_EVT_USU1 evt_usg1_32k.stm Event track for Twilight Town.
Jingles
BGM_FF_ENV_MAP1 ff_map1_32k.stm Jingle for the Magical Map?
BGM_FF_ENV_SHIP_APPEAR1 ff_s_apr1_32k.stm A jingle for either Lord Crump or Cortez's ship appearing.
BGM_FF_ENV_SUCCESS2 Blank A second "success" jingle.
BGM_FF_GET_PERA1 ff_get7_32k.stm Jingle for acquiring Paper Powers.
BGM_FF_GET_IMPORTANT_ITEM1 Blank Jingle for acquiring important items. Different from key items? File name was most likely either ff_get5_32k.stm or ff_get1_32k.stm.
BGM_FF_ENV_OPEN_DOOR1 ff_dor1_32k.stm Most likely meant for the Thousand-Year Door opening.
BGM_FF_POWERDOWN1 Blank Counterpart for the Power Up jingle. Very likely that this is the standard Super Mario Bros. "power down" sound.

Unused Characters

  • Green Cheep-Cheep

PMTTYDGreenCheep.png
File Name: c_puku
An unused Green Cheep-Cheep. Given the tie, this is either an early version of the blimp conductor or an entirely different, unused character.

  • Spinia Partner

PMTTYDSpiniaBurger.png PMTTYDSpaniaRainbow.png
File Name: c_lp_hannya
An unused partner for Luigi. Two designs for this partner exist - a hamburger Spinia and a rainbow-colored Spania. The file for this partner was last modified April 21, 2004, whereas Luigi's other partners were last modified May 17, 2004.

  • Paper Mario Partners

All of the partners from Paper Mario are on the disc, though only Parakarry and Bow appear in-game. All of them have functional standing and talking animations, and Watt has an extra for her sparks. All of these were repurposed in Super Paper Mario as Catch Cards.

Character File Name
Goombario c_kurio
Kooper c_kameki
Bombette c_pinky
Watt c_akarin
Sushie c_opuku
Lakilester c_pokopi

Unused Followers

There's an unused Craw follower that uses the same model as Gus, though it's unknown if it actually is Gus. Their follower ID is 12.

(Source: Zephiles)

Internal Map Group Names

Hmmm...
To do:
What is the internal order of these names?

In addition to the short abbreviated map group names, Japanese map group names exist as Shift-JIS text in the dol. Only "Abbreviated Name" and "Japanese Name" in the below table are from the data in the dol. The rest of it is supplementary. These aren't necessarily in any internal order.

Maps Abbreviated
Name
Japanese
Name
Romanisation Translation Notes
Test maps kwb / tst テスト用 Tesuto-yō For testing No maps under these prefixes exist in the final game. "kwb" may possibly stand for "Kawabe", as in Chie Kawabe, the game's art director.
Battle Stages bti 舞台セット Butai setto Stage set
Coloured Battle Stages stg 背景セット Haikei setto Background set The maps under this prefix are unused.
Mario's House aaa マリオの家 Mario no ie Mario's House Maybe its called this because its the first location that you see in-game, and "aaa" is the first abbreviation if they are ordered alphabetical.
Rogueport gor ゴロツキタウン Gorotsukitaun Rogue Town Same as the in-game Japanese name.
Rogueport Sewers tik 埋没した都市 Maibotsu shita toshi Buried city "tik" is likely from "chika" (underground), using the Kunrei-shiki romanization of "chi". The in-game Japanese name is ゴロツキタウンの地下 (Gorotsuki Town no chika, "Rogue Town Underground").
Hooktail Castle gon ゴンババ Gonbaba Hooktail In-game Japanese name of Hooktail.
Petal Meadows hei 平原 Heigen Plain
Petalburg nok ノコ村 Noko-mura Koopa Village Differs from the in-game Japanese name of ハナハナ村 (Hanahana-mura, "Flowery Village"), but is similar to Paper Mario's Koopa Village (ノコノコ村, Nokonoko-mura).
Boggly Woods win ウィンディん家周辺 Windi n chi shūhen Around Windy's house Flurrie is referred to as "Windy" in the game files.
The Great Tree mri 巨木の中 Kyoboku no naka In the big tree Possibly from mori (森), meaning "forest". 巨木 (kyoboku) differs from the Great Tree's in-game Japanese name of 大樹 (taiju), but is generally synonymous.
Glitzville tou 闘技場 Tōgijō Arena
Twilight Town usu ウスグラタウン Usugurataun Gloomy Town Slightly different from the in-game Japanese name of ウスグラ村 (Usugura-mura), which refers to it as a village instead of a town.
Twilight Trail gra ウスグラの道 Usugura no michi Gloomy Road Same as the in-game Japanese name.
Creepy Steeple jin ダイム寺院 Daimu jiin Dime Temple Differs from the in-game Japanese name of オドローン寺院 (Odorōn Temple).
Keelhaul Key muj 無人島 Mujintō Uninhabited island
Pirate's Grotto dou 洞窟 Dōkutsu Cave
Poshley Heights pik ピカリーヒルズ Pikarīhiruzu Pikari Hills Same as the in-game Japanese name.
Excess Express rsh 列車 Ressha Train
Train travel cutscenes/outside Riverside Station hom 途中駅ホーム Tochū-eki hōmu Enroute-station platform
Riverside Station eki Eki Station
Fahr Outpost bom ボム村 Bomu-mura Bomb Village Differs from the in-game Japanese name of サイハテ村 (Saihate-mura, "Farthest Village").
The Moon moo Tsuki Moon
X-Naut Fortress aji 敵のアジト Teki no ajito Enemy hideout
Palace of Shadow las ラストダンジョン Rasutodanjon Last dungeon
Bowser Stages kpa クッパ編 Kuppa-hen Bowser sections
The Pit of 100 Trials jon 100階ダンジョン 100-kai danjon 100-Floor Dungeon Same as the in-game Japanese name.
Pianta Parlor Minigames yuu 遊技場 Yūgi-jō Amusement center Same as the Japanese name of the Toad Town Playroom in Paper Mario.
Chuck Quizmo Quiz qiz はてなむしクイズ Hatena mushi kuizu Chuck Quizmo Quiz No maps under these prefixes exist in the final game. The presence of this entry suggests that Chuck Quizmo from Paper Mario was to appear in this game. He is referenced in the Japanese script and in translations other than English and French.
Game Over screen/chapter prologues sys システム Shisutemu System
Intro dmo オープニングデモ Ōpuningudemo Opening cutscene
? dig ダイジェスト Daijesuto Digest This map group isn't used. Maybe this was used for the end-of-Chapter summaries at one point?
Ending credits end エンディング Endingu Ending
(discovery: JasperRLZ)
(analysis: Original TCRF research)

Unused Maps

Hmmm...
To do:
The rest of the maps: tik_14, rsh_05_b, rsh_05_c, rsh_06_b, rsh_06_c (note that Zephiles says that these unused rsh maps don't have init scripts).

The unused field maps don't exist in the world_data struct, unlike the used field maps.

(Source: Ralf@gc-forever (discovery of unused train maps), PistonMiner and Zephiles (info on the world_data struct))
(Source: Original TCRF research)

Pit of 100 Trials

These unused maps are named with the Rogueport Sewers prefix ("tik"), but appear to be intended to be in the Pit of 100 Trials. The used Pit of 100 Trials maps all have the "jon" prefix, except for the entrance room which is under "tik".

tik_09

Model/objects
Early Final
Render PMTTYD-unused map-tik 09-render.png PMTTYD-unused map-jon 00-render.png
In-Game PMTTYD-unused map-tik 09-ingame.png PMTTYD-unused map-jon 00-ingame.png
Textures
Early Final
jon_kanban_0 PMTTYD-unused map-tik 09-jon kanban 0.png PMTTYD-unused map-jon 00-jon kanban 0.png

This appears to be an early map for the Pit of 100 Trials normal floors, which use jon_00 in the final game. The final game also uses differently-colored variations - jon_01 and jon_02. It has three warps in the form of pipes. It doesn't have any enemies in and the sign can't be read. The lower pipe activates itself, has glitchy collision, and doesn't seem able to be entered. Tattling produces the "no messages" error text. The only texture that differs is the one for the sign. Interestingly the sign texture is called "jon_kanban_0" in both maps. All the textures match between the early and final maps.

tik_10

Model/objects
Early Final
Render PMTTYD-unused map-tik 10-render.png PMTTYD-unused map-jon 03-render.png
In-Game PMTTYD-unused map-tik 10-ingame.png PMTTYD-unused map-jon 03-ingame.png
Textures
Early Final
jon_kanban_0 doesn't exist PMTTYD-unused map-jon 00-jon kanban 0.png
matches jon_00's jon_kanban_0
tik_ganban_0 PMTTYD-tik 10-tik ganban 0.png PMTTYD-jon 03-tik ganban 0.png
tik_renga_05.5_0 PMTTYD-tik 10-tik renga 05.5 0.png doesn't exist
tik_tex_02_0 PMTTYD-tik 10-tik tex 02 0.png doesn't exist

This appears to be an early map for the Pit of 100 Trials intermediate floors, which use jon_03 in the final game. The lower pipe is already activated when you enter the map, and goes to tik_14. The right-hand pipe goes to the used Pit of 100 Trials entrance map, like the final intermediate floors. The chest contains a Mushroom, and tattling produces the "no messages" error text. All the textures other than the ones compared above match between the early and final maps.

Undefined Battle ID Behavior

Enemies in the field are assigned a Battle ID that defines which enemies you encounter when you get in a battle. All areas in the game, except the Glitz Pit, share the same Battle IDs; however, encounters differ based on the area you're in. For example, although Boggly Woods and Petal Meadows both have a Battle ID of 00 defined, you cannot touch a Cleft in Boggly Woods and have it direct you to a battle against Goombas.

An undefined Battle ID would be one that is out of range for the IDs used in an area. For example, Boggly Woods' highest used Battle ID is 07, so a Battle ID of 08 or greater would be undefined. Rather than the game crashing or freezing, there is this behavior where interacting with enemies simply doesn't get you into a battle.

Use the NTSC-U Action Replay code 04085504 3B0000?? to set the Battle ID.


(Source: Ralf (GC Forever))

Unused Status

PMTTYDUnStatus.png
Graphic File Name: battle_common
An unused status icon of a nervous/fearful/nauseous-looking face.

A status effect using this icon can be granted with the following NTSC-U Action Replay codes:

Status Modifier Enabler Unused Status
34RR-1H8W-XD2D4
30X2-FFFU-B5C19
4DF2-T1WU-P5XXJ
EVU6-N0FQ-Y917D
9RQQ-N348-HU6YF
2JJA-E4JE-ZBTP5
G3EV-5G1R-9MM2U
QGR9-37KR-NC8U3
543D957C 00000000
4000xxxx 000125yy
4000xxxx 000126zz

yy = # of Rounds (01 to 63)
xxxx = Character ID (use 4620 for Mario and 4624 for Partner)
zz = Attack Mod (01 ... 7F = Attack Up, 80 ... FF = Attack Down)

To have a Thunder Rage inflict this status to see its battle message, splash and hear its sound effect, enter the following NTSC-U Action Replay code on a 1.0 ISO:
02366CDE 00006403
02366CE0 0000FE00

The status is an Attack Down status, a counterpart to the Attack Up status obtained when using Power Lift. zz controls the attack power of the character; if set to FE, the character's attack power would be 2 points weaker, whereas if set to 80, attacks would be so negative that no damage could be dealt. At this point in time, it is not known which values this status would use under normal circumstances.


(Source: Ralf (GC Forever))

Unused Animations

Hmmm...
To do:
  • There are LOTS more where these came from. You can use this tool to view them.
  • Add the animation IDs

Bosses

Lord Crump

c_kanbu_ibt contains quite a few unused animations for Lord Crump, including but not limited to him giving the X-Naut salute, rubbing his hands together menacingly, and adjusting a horn on his headgear.

CrumpHornAdjustTTYD.pngCrumpXSaluteTTYD.pngCrumpPlottingTTYD.pngCrumpLaughTTYD.png

Doopliss

The player has no means to poison enemies, outside of confusing them and having them poison other enemies. Bosses are an exception in that they cannot damage other bosses when confused. However, with cheats it's possible to poison bosses. While most enemies and bosses share their poison animation with dizzy or another status effect, Doopliss' poison animation is unique.

TTYDDooplissPoison.png

Side Characters

Flavio

Flavio has an unused animation of looking through a spyglass. He has both an idle and talking variant.

FlavioSpy1.pngFlavioSpy2.png

Peach

Peach has a unique running animation that goes unused, where she lifts her dress to run.

PeachRunTTYD.png

NPCs

Hmmm...
To do:
replace video with GIF

Grifty

Grifty has an unused animation for walking.

Other Unused Graphics

Miscellaneous stuff that somehow escaped the above categories.

  • Test Graphics

Dated October 7, 2003, these files were among the first graphics to be put into the game.

PMTTYDKadonoTest1.pngPMTTYDKadonoTest2.pngPMTTYDKadonoTest3.png
File Name: kadono_test2
Crude images of two stars and one Mario.

PMTTYDNakaTest1.pngPMTTYDNakaTest2.png
File Name: nakayama_test
This file contains two 32×32 Kanji. 表 translates to "surface", and 裏 to "interior".

PMTTYDNakaTestOmote.png
File Name: nakayama_test3
Only one 16×16 texture is in this file. This says "omote", or "surface".

  • Bonetail
Early Final
PMTTYDBonetailHeadEarly.png PMTTYDBonetailHeadFinal.png

File Name: c_gonbaba_z
An eye texture is present in Bonetail's file. This was not used in the final game, leaving Bonetail eyeless.

  • Dummy Texture

PMTTYDDummyTexture.png
File Name: stg_03_0
This placeholder graphic translates to, appropriately enough, "dummy".

  • Green Boots

PMTTYDGreenBoots.png
File Name: icon
Either this is an alternate boot color that went unused, or there was planned to be a third boot upgrade for Mario. It's possible this was the original color for the Super Boots, as those were green in Paper Mario. Its filename suggests that it is a placeholder.

  • No Hit

PMTTYDNoHit.png
File Names: EFF_nohit, EFF_nohit_us
Text that translates to "No Hit". This was used in the original game when missing the action command with All or Nothing, but in this game nothing is shown in this scenario. The files are identical, as EFF_nohit_us was never translated.

  • Mario Running

PMTTYDMayrorun.gif
File Name: menuwin.tpl
Frames for Mario running away from battle create this nifty little animation. It was made earlier in development, when they were still using the first game's style.

  • Posters

PMTTYDPoster2.pngPMTTYDPoster4.png
File Name: stg_06_3
Two unused posters can be found in Riverside Station's outdoor stage background. These two seem to be scaled-down versions of existing pictures featuring real people. Additionally, two of the used posters feature Japanese writing that is far too small to be legible in-game.

PMTTYDPoster1.png
Translation:
Mario Story
The Popular Game Now On Sale
Super-Soakin' Mario's Livin' Large!!

PMTTYDPoster3.png
Translation:
Happy New Year

(Source: GlitterBerri (translations))
  • Star Rod

PMTTYDStarRod.png
File Name: c_koopa
Strangely, the Star Rod from Paper Mario is present in Bowser's texture file. It even has an updated design!

  • Teaser Screen

PMTTYDTeaserScreen.png
File Name: OFF_d_four_meku_5sec
A teaser screen that should be used for demo versions of the game, but it's not used there either. Odd, that. An earlier version of the title screen can (barely) be seen behind the old game logo.

  • Tubba Blubba's Heart

PMTTYDTubbasHeart.png
One of the images inside effect_n64.tpl is a single sprite of Tubba Blubba's Heart from Paper Mario. The graphic is shrunken down to a 32×32 size.

(Source: Hiccup)
  • 8-Bit Peach

PaperMario2 8-bit peach.gif
File Name: d_mario-
It seems Peach was supposed to be able to use the dressing room in the X-Naut Fortress that transforms Mario and his partners into 8-bit versions. Strangely, these are the first two textures in the texture archive, before Mario.

  • Rogueport Houses

TTYD Rogueport Houses.png
Hidden within the textures grouped with Rogueport are these houses, which don't appear anywhere in Rogueport itself, although differently-colored versions of the green house do appear. The white house seems to be completely unused, as it doesn't match the style of the other Rogueport houses and has an unfamiliar chimney design.

  • Pianta Parlor Backgrounds

File Name: yuu_02 / yuu_03
The Tube Game and Paper Game rooms (yuu_02 and yuu_03) have files for unique backgrounds. The Tube Game room, like most of the Pianta Parlor game rooms, have a modeled wall that completely hides any background. The Paper Game room has no such back wall, but the camera is lined up with the top edge of the model. By standing on the highest platform, the camera will move up a little bit and show only the very top of the background, which is just a solid color. The Paper Game background just has some simple gradients, but the Tube Game background features buildings similar to the ones seen on the interior walls of the Pianta Parlor. Compared to the Parlor's wall buildings, the buildings here have fewer, larger, colorful windows and more exaggerated angles.

  • Twilight Trail Background

Paper Mario TTYD gra 05 bg.png
File Name: gra_05
The last room of Twilight Trail, just before Creepy Steeple, has a unique background that is hidden behind the room's sky mesh. It features the same sky gradient as the background used in other Twilight Trail rooms, but with an added tree layer. The brown trees are notably lighter than the all-black trees that are part of the room geometry. It is possible that this was the original background used for the other rooms and the developers simply overlooked the last one due to it being hidden. The trees were likely removed to prevent the moon from overlapping them due to the moon also being part of the room geometry.

  • Poshley Heights Hotel Sign

Paper Mario TYD Hotel Pik.png
File Name: pik_04
The hotel sign texture for Poshley Heights has unused lettering indicating that the sign was meant to read "Hotel Pik", fitting the area's Japanese name, Pikari Hills. However, the sign simply reads "Hotel" in all versions.

  • X-Naut Fortress Toiletries

Paper Mario TYD X-Naut Fortress Toiletries.png
File Name: aji_15
This texture is used for the pink toilet paper roll and unused geometry in the shower room. Besides the toothbrush, mug, soap bottle, and towels seen in the unused geometry, there is also a placeholder for Peach's dress.

  • Hooktail Leg Test

Paper Mario TTYD test gon2.png
File Name: test_gon2
A rough 3D approximation of one of Hooktail's legs. The gon in the name refers to Hooktail's Japanese name, Gonbaba. The model is only a bit bigger than Mario, nowhere near Hooktail's final size.

Unused Partner Attacks

Koops, Flurrie, and Ms. Mowz have descriptions for unused attacks. It seems Koops may have been planned to learn Kooper's Fire Shell technique at one point. Flurrie and Ms. Mowz's unused attacks, meanwhile, appear entirely new.

  • Koops
msg_pnk_koura_ippatsu
てきを ホノオのコウラで こうげきする

Attack an enemy with a flaming shell.

  • Flurrie
msg_pwd_dengeki
かみなりを すべてのてきに おとす
おまけに 『ビリビリ』させることがある

Drop lightning on all enemies. As a bonus, you might become electrified.

  • Ms. Mowz
msg_pch_shiraberu
ぶたいセットの ウラに アイテムなどが
かくされていないか しらべる

Check behind the stage for hidden items.

  • Unused Gulp Variations

If Yoshi uses Gulp on a Pokey or Poison Pokey that has lost all of its body segments, there is a 50% chance that he'll eat them instead of spitting them back out. Although this very specific variation of Gulp is used, there are some variations that are unused. Including a variation where Yoshi eats an enemy and plays an extra animation that implies whatever he ate blew up, a variation where Yoshi swallows an enemy and spits out a fireball, which does fire damage to enemies that are hit by it, and a variation where Yoshi eats only part of an enemy, such as a Pokey or Poison Pokey's body segment.

(Source: Triple Pain P)

Unused Star Power

The game references a handful of unused special attacks:

  • Hirahira Mekuuru (Hirahira means "flutter", Mekuru means "to turn over; to turn pages of a book")
  • Rakkii Booru (Lucky Ball)
  • Deka Mario (Dekai means "huge")
  • Haato Shuuto (Heart Shoot)
  • Kagenui (Shadow-stitching, a legendary ninja immobilization technique. Given what shadow-stitching looks like, this Star Power may be an early version of Supernova.)

Test E-Mail

msg_mail_test in global.txt:

Japanese English French
デザイナー
マリオストーリー2の
3Dマップしゅにんで
おもなさくひんは
マリオストーリー 
かなりのゲームずきで
ゲームをしていないと
気がすまない
『かわで』と『かわべ』が
ややこしい
Designer
Paper Mario and Paper
Mario 2 3-D Level
Designer. Big gamer.
Gets restless when not
gaming. Can't tell
difference between
Brett and Bert.
Voilà un test de mail
et à quoi ça doit
ressembler pour que
tout le monde le sache.

Je tiens à remercier
Hélène pour le super
boulot qu'elle a fait.

      Michaël
Translation
Designer
Worked on 3D maps
for Paper Mario 2.
Biggest project was
Paper Mario.
Big gamer.
Gets restless when
not gaming. Can't tell
difference between
Kawade and Kawabe.
This is a mail test
and what it has to
look like so that
everyone knows.

I would like to thank
Hélène for the amazing
work she did.

      Michaël


German Spanish Italian
Designer
Verantwortlich für die
3D-Karten bei Paper Mario
2, Hauptwerk: Paper Mario.
Mag Spiele ziemlich gerne.
Wenn er nicht spielt, fühlt
er sich nicht gut.
"Am Fluss" und "Flussufer"
sind etwas kompliziert.

Soy el diseñador del
entorno tridimensional
de este juego.
Entre mis obras
anteriores destaca el
trabajo realizado en
la entrega anterior.
Cuando no estoy con
los videojuegos, siento
que me falta algo.
Será que juego
demasiado.

             Kawade
Sono il disegnatore
delle mappe in 3D
di questo gioco.

Il lavoro è stato duro,
però la storia mi ha
davvero appassionato.

Non riesco a far
passare un giorno
senza che mi venga
voglia di giocarci
un po’!

Divertitevi anche voi!

               Kawade
Translation
Designer
Responsible for the 3D 
maps in Paper Mario 2, 
biggest project: Paper Mario.
Likes games a lot.
When he doesn't play, he
doesn't feel well.
"At the river" and "riverside"
are a little complicated.
I’m the designer
of the 3D environments
in this game.

Among my previous works 
is the work I did for the 
previous entry. When I'm not
with video games, I feel
like I'm missing something

I’ll play them so much.

               Kawade
I’m the designer
of the 3D maps
in this game.

The work was hard,
but the story
really gripped me.

Not a day
goes by
without me feeling
like playing it
a little!

You have fun, too!

               Kawade

In the French version, "Michaël" is Michaël Hugot and "Hélène" is Hélène Guillemain, both credited as the French localisation team.

(Source: The Mushroom Kingdom)

Oddities

  • Mario's House Full Interior
pardon the stray letterbox

The interior of Mario's house in the opening scene contains a full recreation of the bedroom as it was in Paper Mario, plus a bunch of extra little details. Only the tiniest bit of it is visible in the opening, and this room is never seen outside of a cutscene. Sadly, Luigi's secret basement is not present.

By using cheat codes to play here, the map is revealed to have functional camera angles, bushes, a door, and even a rejecting pipe! The bushes and pipe are likely built from templates, but the interior's camera pans perfectly to and from the bedroom when walking in and out.

  • Cheep Cheep Blimp Hidden Detail
PMTYDleftblimp.png

The left side of the 3D model for the Cheep Cheep Blimp, which is never shown to the camera, has an extra orange decoration over the windows that is missing from the right side. The decoration was likely removed on purpose, as the detail is not present on the blimp's 2D model. Despite this, it appears to be restored on the right side of the model in the trailer for the announcement of the Thousand-Year Door's 2024 remaster.

  • Bowser Action Stages - Inaccessible Blocks

Chapter 2 (1-1)

PMTTYD-BowserActionStageCh2-InaccessibleBlock.png

This block is on top of the first set of blocks. With some careful jumps or by standing on top of the first pipe as full-size Bowser you can see part of it. You can also smash it while it's off-screen with full-size Bowser. Like the other Brick Blocks, it doesn't contain anything.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Chapter 6 (3-1)

PMTTYD-BowserActionStageCh6-InaccessibleBlock.png

While this block can be seen, you can't break it as you can only get near it in Bowser's smallest form. Like other Yellow Blocks, it contains some meat.

(Source: Original TCRF research)
  • Pianta Parlor Music

The music for the mini-games in the Pianta Parlor uses the file name btl_zak3_32k.dsp. This might indicate that it was originally meant to be a battle track for common enemies, as the used battle music is btl_zak1_32k.dsp. ("zak" likely stands for zako, used here to mean small/weak opponents.) The numbering also seems to imply that a third battle song was planned before being scrapped completely.

  • Red Bones Tattle Entry

If the player fails to Tattle a one-time enemy, the enemy's Tattle Log entry will appear in Professor Frankly's trash can after the enemy disappears. However, the player can obtain the Red Bones' Tattle Log entry after defeating it in Chapter 1, even though the player is forced to fight another Red Bones in the Tower of Riddles. This implies that the second Red Bones battle was added later in development.

  • Early Name
Please insert
the "Paper Mario 2" Game Disc.

In the Interactive Multi-Game Demo Disc Version 18 demo and the final Japanese version, the "insert disc" message refers to the game as Paper Mario 2. This name can also be seen in multiple prerelease materials.

(Source: Original TCRF research)
  • Sir Grodus' Dialogue Error

There is an error in the English version with choosing Mario's response after Sir Grodus is defeated at the Palace of Shadow and strikes Mario and co. with lightning. In other versions the text "Don't Attack" is placed above "Attack", but in the English version the text "Don't Attack" is incorrectly placed below "Attack". This causes Sir Grodus' response to be in the wrong order. If the player chooses "Don't Attack", he will say "WORM! You dare defy me?!?", even though Mario is doing what Grodus said. Likewise, if the player chooses "Attack", Grodus simply tells Mario to stop his blubbering.

  • Doopliss' KO Resistance

The second form of Doopliss (the one fought on Twilight Trail and the Creepy Steeple rematch) has a 3% chance to get KOed by Showstopper, even though the Star Power is unobtainable by that point. All other bosses fought before obtaining Showstopper are immune to the attack.

(Source: Super Mario Wiki)

  • Mario's Arms Texture
Hmmm...
To do:
replace video with screenshot

Whenever Mario falls into water, a magnified version of his arm texture appears underneath the game area, outside the normal view of the camera. The same textures also appear during a cutscene in Chapter 7 when Mario is sent to the moon.

  • Petal Meadows Blow-away-able Bushes

There is one area in Petal Meadows where Flurrie’s ability can be used to blow away the bushes. Doing this results in no reward whatsoever, and the bushes can not be blown away in any other area of that chapter.

  • Pianta Syndicate Obscure Dialog

By visiting the Pianta Syndicate before the end of Chapter 2, it's possible to meet Frankie and Francesca before they elope. This is only possible if the player already knows the passcode to enter the building, because the passcode isn't revealed to the player until after Chapter 2.

(Source: Supper Mario Broth)
  • Giant Hole in Gloomtail's Room

After the last Bowser battle, there will be a giant hole in the secret room behind Gloomtail's arena, and jumping down will have the player fall into the main hall of the Palace of Shadow where Grodus, and later Bowser and Kammy were fought. However, it's impossible to revisit Gloomtail's arena after a certain point, making this Easter egg unused.

  • Unused Shopkeeper Dialog

All shopkeepers have unique dialog for when the player visits an item shop for the first time. However, because the player is required to visit a shop in order to access Chapter 3, the extra dialog for the shops in Glitzville, Twilight Town, Keelhaul Key, the Excess Express, and Fahr Outpost go unused.

(Source: Supper Mario Broth)
  • Unseen Rawk Hawk Picture

If Mario is not the current Champion in the Glitz Pit, the picture of him in the Champion's Room will be replaced with a picture of Rawk Hawk. However, you only visit this room before becoming the Champion once during a cutscene, and the camera doesn't extend far enough to see the picture, so the player never sees it.

  • Chapter 7 Structure

Most map models in the game are numbered in sequential order that matches the game's progression per area, but the numbering in Chapter 7's areas suggests that the chapter's flow was reworked later in development to increase the chapter's length. The numbering of the battle stage backgrounds, which are numbered per chapter rather than per area, seem to support this.

In Fahr Outpost, the village's two rooms are directly after the entrance room, with the two intermediate pathway rooms coming after. This suggests that the path was extended, likely to allow for more enemy battles. The chapter's first stage background is for Fahr Outpost, indicating that enemies were part of the initial plan and not added later. Another possibility is that the extra path rooms were always planned, but instead as a path out from the village to somewhere else.

The Moon, like Fahr Outpost, also had its size increased by adding three new rooms to the end of the list. The rooms for the cutscene where Mario is launched through space are numbered after the first three rooms, before the new rooms. This wouldn't be too odd on its own, but strangely, the Moon's stage background is numbered after some of the backgrounds for the next area, X-Naut Fortress.

The rooms for the X-Naut Fortress are mostly in order, starting with the room that the first battle takes place in. The bedroom, shower, and TEC's room come after the boss room, yet other Peach-related rooms such as the locker room are in order, suggesting that certain aspects of the Peach interludes were changed after the area had been planned. The triple keycard room, needed to access the machine room, is second-to-last, indicating that the keycard requirement was added to either lengthen the chapter or to prevent Peach from going too far. Strangely, the entrance room is the very last room.

The stage backgrounds for X-Naut Fortress are divided into two groups: three before the Moon's and two after. The standard background with metal walls, the machine room, and the boss room are the first three stages. The backgrounds after the Moon are for the control room and the windowed rooms. The control room itself is not out of order, so it is likely that either the room did not always have an enemy guarding it, or its design was initially close enough to other rooms that it didn't need its own background. The windowed room being last is notable, as it is used for the area's first room. This indicates that windows were added later.

Looking at the numbers for these three areas together provides a rough idea of how the chapter was originally designed. The player would first arrive in Fahr Outpost, which was just a town with a few dangerous monsters outside. Then, perhaps after finding General White, the player somehow gains access to the X-Naut Fortress, but not by using a cannon. If the fortress were on the moon, the player may have used a teleporter, like the one in Rogueport Sewers. Otherwise, the fortress may have been located somewhere underground. The player would make progress through the underground fortress and fight the boss as normal. How the moon was involved is unclear. If the fortress was indeed on the moon, then exiting onto the moon's surface may have been a big reveal moment. If not, then the Moon section was added later to make the chapter longer and more interesting.

Internal Project Name

The game is referred to as "mariost" (presumably short for Mario Story) in various places in the code.