Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door/Regional Differences

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This is a sub-page of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door/Regional Differences.

Title Theme

Japan	International

The Japanese version has a slightly different melody for the first part of the title screen music. The drum roll is also more noticeable during the fade out. The rest of the theme is the same.

Technical Changes

Health Warning Logo

There is no health warning screen when starting up the game in the Japanese version.

Post-Chapter Healing

In the Japanese version, Mario and his partners are only fully healed at the end of 1st chapter, but in the end of other chapters they do not get healed at all. In the international versions, Mario and his partners are fully healed at the end of each chapter except Chapter 8.

Lumpy the Rat's Offering

There's a Ratooey named Lumpy that hangs around at the east side of the Rogueport docks, and you can give your money to him so that he gives you more money later in the game.

In the Japanese version, giving him 200 coins means you'll only end up getting back 500 coins. However, in the international versions, giving him 200 coins means you'll end up getting back 600 instead.

Unskippable Text

In the Japanese version, the "Can't flee from this fight!" text at the beginning of mandatory fights is unskippable.

Blind Fuzzies

All Fuzzies have horrible vision in the Japanese version, as they often don't even notice you when you go by them. In the international versions, the Fuzzies have better vision and thus notice you more quickly.

Change of Positions

Many things are positioned differently between the Japanese and international versions:

Koopook is moved to a different position (further to the left) in Hooktail Castle during his trouble in the Japanese version.
The Wedding Ring for Frankie's trouble in Rogueport is in a different position in the Japanese version as opposed to the international versions.
One of the plane panels in Hooktail's castle is 97 units further to the left in the Japanese version.
Many of the items at the Pianta Parlor have different positioning in the menu in the Japanese version.
In Chapter 2, in the room where you have to hammer the switches to gain access to the Super Boots room, in the Japanese version the 4 statues have Punis on them before hitting the switches, but in the international versions the 4 statues have the following (left to right) on them before hitting the switches: Puni, Star, Moon, Sun.

Action Commands

In the Japanese version, failing an Action Command causes significantly less damage to be dealt compared to the international versions.

Movement Changes

When entering or leaving Paper Mode while falling off of something, Mario will move downwards in the Japanese version, while in the international versions Mario will move left.
There is no slowdown when moving up slopes on rooftops with Yoshi in the Japanese version.
In the Japanese version, if you switch to a different partner in a battle and then leave the battle, the partner will always spawn directly behind Mario, even if there is no solid ground there and/or if that would spawn the partner out of bounds.
In the Japanese version, when you are spinning the stick for any action that requires it, doing a jump will cause the stored spins to be reset back to 0.
You can start spinning the stick in the air to charge a Spring Jump in the Japanese version, while in the international versions you have to land before doing so.
Holding A when you don't have the Ultra Boots prevents Mario from moving in the Japanese version.
When performing the Flurrie Superslide glitch, Mario will move slightly up before going fully downwards in the Japanese version, while in the international versions you will go either left or right.

Area Changes

Several areas had some changes made between the Japanese and international versions.

Prologue

The X-Nauts who jump on you in the Prologue move faster in the Japanese version.
In the Japanese version, the moving platforms in the Rogueport Underground (the one in the first area and the two in the room with the pipe to Petal Meadows) do not move as far to the left and right as the ones in the international versions.

Chapter 1

Question #2 of the Thwomp quiz in Shhwonk's Fortress asks for the price of a Mushroom and a Fire Flower in the Japanese version, as opposed to the price of a Mr. Softener and a Fire Flower . However, in the US Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door demo included in the Demo Disc Version 18 for the Gamecube, this question asked for the price of a Mushroom and a Fire Flower like in the Japanese version.

Chapter 2

In the Japanese version, the right Pale Piranha on the screen where you fight the Shadow Sirens in Boggly Woods acts differently from the one in the international versions.
In the Japanese version, when unlocking the blue cage in the Great Tree, the game checks for and removes the Strange Sack from your inventory if you have it. This doesn't happen in the international versions.
In the Japanese version, Punio's textbox when he thinks about how to reveal the secret entrance advanced automatically instead of manually.

Chapter 3

In the Glitz Pit, all fights (excluding ones that start with special cutscenes, such as The Goomba Bros. and The Armored Harriers) start about 2 seconds faster in the Japanese version when compared to the international versions.
In the Japanese version, when returning to Rogueport from Glitzville, the entire cutscene is about 7 seconds longer than in the international versions.
During Peach's section right after Chapter 3, when leaving the dressing room to return to TEC after talking to Grodus, the player can move while the door is opening in the Japanese version.

Chapter 5

In the Japanese version, you can get the Keel Mango from the trees at Keelhaul Key at any time. In the international versions, you must complete the chapter first.
One Flower Fuzzy on the screen with the blue pipe in Keelhaul Key was removed in the international versions.
The Flower Fuzzy on the screen with the 2 Putrid Piranhas will continue to move around if it falls down in the Japanese version, while it will stay still in the international versions.
In Pirate's Grotto, the chest behind the waterfall contains a Damage Dodge P in the Japanese version. In the international versions, this is a Defend Plus P.
In the black chest room in Pirate's Grotto, when you defeat the Embers, the key will randomly fall to the left or right in the Japanese version. In the international versions, it simply falls straight down.

Chapter 6

On Day 3 of the Excess Express, you get an email in the dining car in the Japanese version. In the international versions, you get this email to the right of Mario's room.

Chapter 7

The "safe path" in X-Naut Fortress's third puzzle room was lengthened from two to three squares long in the international versions.
On the moon, on the screen with the pipe, blowing up the rock containing the pipe causes a small cutscene to play in the Japanese version. This cutscene does not occur in the international versions.

Chapter 8

The changes made consist of the fight against the Shadow Queen:

In the Japanese version, none of the Shadow Queen's attacks can be superguarded against.
During the first phase of the Shadow Queen fight, you need to do at least 39 damage to her in the Japanese version. In the international versions, you need to do at least 61 damage.

Graphical Changes

Luigi's Book

Japan	International

The cover was re-colored from orange to red.

Wrestling Magazine

Japan	International

The Wrestling Magazine has some barely-visible kanji that got changed to scribbles in the international version. Also, the Japanese version has "プロレス" (Pro Wrestling) while the international version has "wrestle".

Power Rush Badge

Japanese	English

The Power Rush badge has a different letter for every language. The discrepancy is likely because of the regional names of the Danger effect; it is obviously called Danger in English, but is referred to as Pinch in Japanese. The U.S. ROM also contains the original P version, as well as K, A, and C versions, presumably for other languages (another example of this in the U.S. ROM is the Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German versions of the "Good" message that appears when you successfully execute a timed attack in battle).

Peeka and Lahla

Japan	International

The two sister boos Peeka and Lahla have bunny ears in the Japanese version. They instead wear cat ears in the international versions, likely to tone down the resemblance to the Playboy bunny. The Playboy bunny outfit is actually copyrighted, so this might have been for legal reasons rather than censorship.

Chuckola Cola

Japan	International

The Chuckola Cola, known as the Vintage Red in the Japanese version, was renamed and recolored from red to purple, probably to make it look and sound less like wine.

TEC

Japan	International

TEC's "camera eye" is red in the Japanese version, but was changed to blue in the international versions, possibly to avoid resemblance to HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

(Source: Mario Wiki)

Messy Shed

Japan	International

The messy shed in the back alley of Rogueport's central plaza (behind Podley's juice bar) has a Toad-shaped chalk outline with a puddle of unidentifiable red fluid lying nearby in the Japanese version, implying it to be a murder scene. These details were removed from all subsequent versions.

Glitzville

In Glitzville, the sign above the main entrance says "Oolongtown" in the Japanese version rather than "Glitzville" in the English version. Each foreign localization of the game changes this sign appropriately.

Pianta Parlor

The sign above the Pianta Parlor says "Monte Game" in the Japanese version rather than "Pianta Parlor" in the English version. Like with Glitzville, each foreign localization of the game edits this sign appropriately.

Mario's Talking Animation

In the Japanese and American versions, Mario has two different talking animations, one involving him raising his hand and one involving him moving his mouth, and each one is used in different scenarios. Only the "mouth moving" one is used in the European version, however, to avoid unintentional resemblance to the Nazi salute.

Added Texts

There are some texts that were added in the international versions:

On the Level Up Screen, the "Select one to upgrade!" text isn't present in the Japanese version.
The Shadow Sirens in Boggly Woods do not say anything when Mario is at 1 HP in the Japanese version.
There is no "Thank you" message after buying something from a shop in the Japanese version.
One of the crows in Twilight Town hopes that her son gets into a school like "Crowhall University." This one was completely made up by the localization team; the crows don't mention a school name in the Japanese version.

Added Graphics/Animations

There are some graphics/animations that were added in the international versions:

In the Japanese version, after Bowser's swimming level in post-chapter 4, Bowser does not do some animations during the cutscene with Kammy: He doesn't do the animation of crossing his arms and closing his eyes, and he also doesn't do the animation of looking angry before blowing fire at Kammy.
Peeka doesn't talk to the door during the part when she lets you into into the Pianta Syndicate's room in the Japanese version.
In the Japanese version, there is no animation for giving the autograph to Bub in the Excess Express.
When you are selling badges to the badge shop, the badges that you currently have equipped do not have a symbol next to them in the Japanese version.

Flashing Lights

A few cutscenes involving flashing lights were edited down in the international versions, probably to reduce the chance of players getting epileptic seizures:

The flashing lights during the 1st Shadow Queen cutscene was reduced.
The flashing lights during the cutscene in the room that makes the Emerald Star appear was reduced.

Weirdly enough, the animation for Showstopper, despite arguably being worse than any of these, wasn't changed at all.

Character Differences

Vivian

Vivian is cisgender female in the English and German versions. However the other translations refer to Vivian as a male-to-female transsexual.

The following is a comparison of Vivian between the Japanese and English versions:

Party member description:

Japanese	Translation	English
カゲ三人組の一人だった　オンナのコのようで　ホントは　オトコのコ	A former member of the Shadow Trio. He may look like a girl, but he's actually a boy.	One of the Shadow Sirens, Vivian suffers from a bit of an inferiority complex.

Excerpt from Goombella's tattle:

Japanese	Translation	English
『ビビアン』よ　カゲ三人組の一人で　いちばん下の妹　・・・じゃなくて　弟ね	It's Vivian, a member of the Shadow Trio and the youngest sister... no, wait, brother.	That's Vivian. She's the youngest of the three Shadow Sirens.

Hooktail

Hooktail's gender is inconsistent between different language translations. The English version refers to Hooktail as a female, but in some other translations, like the Spanish version, Hooktail is referred to as a male.

Also in the Japanese version, Hooktail's weakness is actually frogs and not crickets like in the international versions. However, in the US Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door demo included in the Demo Disc Version 18 for the Gamecube, Hooktail is weak to frogs like in the Japanese version.

Bonetail

Bonetail's gender is inconsistent between language translations as well. In most languages, Bonetail is referred to as a male. However, he is referred to as a female in the Japanese and German versions of the game, and his Italian name (Ossandra) comes from the Italian word for bone (osso) and the name Cassandra.

(Source: Mario Wiki)

Shadow Queen

The Shadow Queen is more informal and down-to-earth in the Japanese version. She was rewritten to be more formal and condescending in the English script, possibly to play her up as more of a threat.

Errors

Enemy Stat Errors

Every enemy's stats stayed the same between all versions, but the American version mistakenly claims that the Red Spike Top has 5 defense instead of 4, and that Rawk Hawk has 3 attack and 1 defense, rather than 4 and 0, respectively. These mistakes were corrected in the European version.

Zess T.'s Recipes

The English text mistakenly says that the Zess Frappe and Icicle Pop recover 20 and 10 HP when in fact they recover 20 and 10 FP in all versions. Also another one of Zess T.'s Recipes, the Koopa Bun, recovers only 15 FP in the international versions rather than 20 FP in the Japanese version.

Glitches

Many glitches that were found in the Japanese version were fixed in the international versions.

Vivian Softlock

In the Japanese version, while in the ground with Vivian you are able to open the pause menu at any time, even when in a cutscene. If you do this during Vivian's tutorial, the game will softlock after the tutorial.

Clipping through doors with Bobbery

In the Japanese version, by flipping into Paper mode with R while activating Bobbery's ability with X and then pressing A to open a door as soon as he explodes, you can clip outside the door.

Bubble Room Freeze

In the Japanese version, it's possible for the game to actually freeze in the Bubble Room when blowing most/all of the 101 Punies over. This can be avoided by allowing the Punies to exit the bubbles before going to the right side of the area by the pipe.

Minor League Room Freeze

In the Japanese version, breaking the large yellow block in the Minor League room with the Super Hammer can sometimes crash the game. This can be avoided by charging up a full hammer spin before releasing it, as opposed to releasing the spin immediately.

Sort Glitch

In the Japanese version, the pause menu allows you to sort a list while closing the menu at the same time, which will cause the game to think you are still in the sort menu the next time you open the menu, but the normal cursor will still be available to use (although invisible). This allows you to sort any of those categories within the start menu every time the A button is pressed.

Paper Mode Glitch

In the Japanese version, while still on the ground after fighting Doopliss for the first time, if you hold R and then press A, you will go into Paper Mode on the ground for a moment before standing normally.

Storage Room Glitch

In the Japanese version, it is possible to clip out of bounds in the Storage Room.

Invisible Shadow Queen Hands

In the Japanese version of the game, the Shadow Queen’s hands can sometimes not appear in either phase of the fight. This is purely a graphical bug, so the hands still function as normal.

Partner/Follower Physics Glitch

In the Japanese version, some function(s) that normally reset value(s) relating to partners don't work correctly, which leads to partners doing buggy things such as moon jumps and glitching out when Mario goes up and down stairs.

Localization Name Changes

This game features many localization name changes, including puns & references.

Some notable name changes include:

English Version

One of the Toads at Petalburg says he likes playing Fire Emblem on his GBA. In all other versions, the Toad instead says that he likes playing Super Mario Bros on his Famicom.

Spanish Version

Chapter 3's title name "Of Glitz & Glory" was changed to "El Rey de Los Luchadores" which translates to "The King of Fighters", which is a reference to The King of Fighters series.
Rawk Hawk's name was changed to Hawk Hogan, which is a reference to the famous WWF wrestler Hulk Hogan.
After defeating The Koopinator, Rawk Hawk says "The weaklings should stay home playing Super Smash Bros. Melee!". In all other versions of the game, "Super Smash Bros. Melee" is simply replaced with "video games".

German Version

Chapter 7's Fahr Outpost is called Großfrostheim, which is a pun on Großostheim, the former residence of Nintendo of Europe, and "frost".

Italian Version

The two lovers, Frankie and Franchesca, are called Giuliano and Romoletta, which is a reference to Romeo and Juliet.

(Source: A special thanks to Zephiles for a majority of this page.)