The story
Everything was going swimmingly in the Mushroom Kingdom, so you know right off the bat that Bowser's going to drop by and screw it all up(Fer sure! :p). Sure enough, he lifts Peach's castle into the sky with his own flying fortress, effectively kidnapping everyone inside. The Koopa king's stolen the Star Rod this time, which is used in Star Haven to grant all of the Mushroom Kingdom's wishes. *cough Kirby ripoff cough* Not only that, but he's kidnapped the Star Spirits, the guardians of Star Haven. Using the unlimited power granted to him by the Star Rod, Bowser (gasp!) defeats Mario in battle for the first time, to Peach's shock and chagrin, and shoves him out of the castle to plummet to the harsh and unforgiving ground below. *thinks* Well I don't know why everybody's surprised, Bowser could eat Mario for breakfast any day of the week if he really put his mind to it. But I digress. So Mario's laying there unconscious in the forest, grievously injured, when the Star Spirits use all their power to help heal him, despite being held captive far away. Mario's also found and nursed back to health by a family of friendly Goombas. Spunky little guy that he is, everybody's favourite plumber dude is up and at 'em the next day to go save the world.
Am I the only one who thinks Goombaria would be a better partner choice than Goombario? Ah, well that brings us to...
The allies
Mario's got an all-star cast of friends to help him out against Bowser this time around. Paper Mario plays on the element of good creatures among the bad, since nearly all of Mario's new friends are of a species that he normally has to fight.
Goombario: This little Goomba is Mario's first helper. His parents are huge Mario fans, in case you're curious about the name. When wandering around in the field he'll give his opinion on random people and things, and occasionally cough up some useful information. He's only useful in the beginning of the game actually, his Headbonk attacks are pretty weak and Tattle is only really useful for seeing the enemy's HP, and there's a Badge for that.
I agree with Pyra. Goombario has generally weak attacks. Headbonk and Multibonk(Ultra Attack) are only slightly effective when Charged, and I think Charge(Super Attack) only lasts for a round, not the whole battle. Tattle is good when you're a beginner, because it tells you how to beat enemies, and displays HP. But as Pyra said, after you play for a bit, you figure out how to attack all the enemies, and there's a badge to find out HP totals.
Found in: Goomba Village, Prolouge, "A Plea from the Stars"
Kooper: He's a Koopa obsessed with the explorations of the famous Kolorado Koopa. Mario can kick the withdrawn Kooper around in the field, which seems mean but is a great way to hit switches and other stuff that's just out of reach. He's good at attacking groups of enemies on the ground, but is helpless against flyers.
Hooray, a Koopa guy! ^_^ I like Kooper, but all his attacks are basically the same. He can only hit enemies on the ground, too. He has different variations of Shell attacks; his standard Shell Attack, which offical name escapes me now, hits one enemy. His Power Shell hits all the enemies on the field, yay! He has two variations of Power Shell, Dizzy Shell(Super Attack) and Fire Shell(Ultra Attack), which attack with the respectively type. Kooper's a pretty good choice when not around aerial enemies, but there are better.
Found in: Koopa Village, Chapter One, "Storming Koopa Bros. Fortress!"
Bombette: This little chickie is a pink Bob-omb. Whoo, Nintendo gets a gold star for name originality on this one! She can blow up walls to open new pathways in the field, and she's a force to be reckoned with in battle. It's funny cuz there's this guy Bob-omb who's completely obsessed with her, and she's kinda mean to him. ^_^
Whoohoo, a girl character! Bombette's a spunky little gal Bob-omb whose attacks are mainly exploding, duh! Her Body Slam attack is good when you lack FP, and her explosion attacks, Bomb and Power Bomb(Super Attack), do good damage to characters on the ground. Her Ultra attack, Mega Bomb, does major damage to all characters anywhere! A pretty damn good choice for in-battle, if you ask this Troopa.
Found in: Koopa Bros. Fortress, Chapter One, "Storming Koopa Bros. Fortress!"
Parakarry: Paratroopas are a natural choice for mailmen, but Parakarry's not very good at it. He drops his letters all over the place, and Mario has to not only find them, but go deliver them too! Yeesh! Parakarry can fly Mario across spaces too big to jump across in the field, and in battle he's good at attacking airborne enemies. Isn't "Air Raid" a great name for an attack? Isn't it?
Double whoohoo, a Paratroopa! PK is the best male partner, hands down. Being able to fly, he can hit just about every opponent in the game, and his attacks are cool too! Sky Dive is fancy name for "Jump Kick," and that does decent damage for no FP cost. His Shell Shot is controlled by target, and that does good damage to just one enemy, while Air Raid, his Ultra attack, is the same thing, just to every enemy in the field. His Super attack is Air Lift, which can carry enemies off the field if successful, but don't bother!
Found in: Mt. Rugged, Chapter Two, "The Mystery of Dry Dry Ruins"
Bow: She's the princess of Boos, and she's green. Neato! She starts off by blackmailing Mario into helping her with a little problem named Tubba Blubba, but later joins the team. In the field she can make Mario invisible to keep him from being spotted by enemies, and in battle she can help Mario evade attacks, as well as slap enemies around like the little bitch she is. Bow's my favourite ally, personally.
Bow is also my favorite ally, just because she rocks so much. :D Her Smack attack hits the opponent six times, which rocks for opponents with no defense, as each slap on its own does 1 HP. Outta Sight is a clever way to protect Mario from strong attacks like Huff N Puff's Thunder, while Spook, her Super Attack, is a downright hilarous way to scare enemies off the field. Her Ultra Attack is an upgraded Smack, which does 2 HP per swipe! Bow also has some brains. In the later part of the game, Mario is accused of murder, and Bow is one of the only partners to defend him decently. Go Bow!
Found in: Boo's Mansion, Chapter 3, "The 'Invincible' Tubba Blubba"
Watt: I have no clue what Watt is, and the game even screws up on her gender a few times. She's a cute little electric thingie that was imprisoned in some mean Shyguy's lamp until Mario freed her. She'll light up dark areas in the field and reveal invisible blocks, and in battle her electricity lets her damage heavily armoured enemies with ease.
Watt is another good partner to use. Her Electro Shock does pretty good damage for no FP, and her Power Shock paralyzes one opponent. Her Super attack, Turbo Charge, increases Mario's attack power from one to four rounds, and her Ultra attack, Mega Spark, is like Power Spark, but paralyzes the whole team. Watt also proves to be smart for her age, for in the murder case, Watt provides the best testimony to Mario's defense. Go Watt!
Found in: Shy Guy's Toy Box, Chapter 4, "Trials in the Toy Box"
Sushie: She's a Cheep Cheep whose usual job is to babysit a bunch of bratty young Yoshis, but she takes a break from that to help Mario open up a can of whoopass. She can ferry Mario across water in the field, and her water powers come in handy in battle against firey enemies. Sushie's daughter's name is Sashimie, I dunno about you but I think that's pretty cute. ^_^
Sushie's only real purpose is to ferry Mario. In battle though, she proves she has some pretty good attacks to bring to the party. Her Belly Flop attack, like all other no-FP attacks, does decent damage, while her Squirt Attack is a peeky little attack where Sushie squirts the opponent with water. It's fun to perform, because... it is! :D Sushie's Super Attack is the Yin to Watt's Yang, as her Water Block will increase Mario's defense power from one to four rounds. Her Ultra Attack, Tidal Wave, blasts every enemy on the field with an attack based on how fast you can mash out button combos. Recommended.
Found in: Jade Forest, Chapter 5, "Hot Hot Times on Lavalava Island"
Lakilester: He's a Lakitu with an identity crisis ("Call me Spike!") and a nauseatingly sweet little girlfriend. He originally attacks Mario, but then decides to revolt against his evil faction. Lakilester can carry Mario across wide patches of spikes and thorns in the field, and he pelts nasty thorny things at enemies in battle like a Lakitu should.
Lakilester seems pretty useless. I mean, you have Parakarry, so why throw in another carrier? In battle, Lakilester is decent. His Spiny Flip is a another target move, and does decent damage. Yeah, it's no-FP, how'd you guess? :p His Spiky Surge is good for dealing with little nuisances like the Tuff Puffs that appear when you attack Huff N Puff, so yeah. His Super Attack, Cloud Nine, is similar to Turbo Charge and Water Block, but it will increase Mario's evasiness for one to four rounds. Finally, his Hurricane attack is like a souped-up Spook or Air Lift. Basically, Lakilester is a carbon copy of other characters rolled into one. Not really recommended.
Found in: Flower Fields, Chapter 6, "Dark Days in Flower Fields"
Badges
Some Badges rule the world and you too, others just suck donkey balls. Here's a few Badges I'd recommend using.
- HP Plus/FP Plus. They boost your HP or FP, duh. I only use these when going into a Boss Battle. *shrug*
- Spike Shield. Lets Mario jump on spiky enemies without getting hurt. Very handy indeed. Hell, it's basically required for me! Jump Attacks are better than Hammer attacks, IMO.
- Fire Shield. Lets Mario jump on firey enemies, and reduces damage from fire attacks.
- Quake Hammer/Mega Quake. Lets you hammer the ground and hurt a group of enemies on the floor or ceiling. It costs a lot of FP to use, but it's worth it when fighting those bats that sit on the ceiling. Mega Quake is better, obviously. Good for smacking everyone.
- First Attack. This sometimes lets you get in a sneaky little attack at the beginning of the battle, as though you had gotten a First Strike.
- Peekaboo. Lets you see the enemy's HP, which means that you don't have to bother with that sissy Goombario.
- Group Focus. Lets your partner help you charge Star energy. Star energy is good, we like Star energy. I never saw this Badge DO anything when I had it! It was a fast as normal charging!
- Deep Focus. Lets you charge Star energy faster with Focus. Equipping more than one Deep Focus is probably a good idea. Yep, this is good one to use. It recovers nearly a whole Star Meter bar in one Focus! Yay!
- Double Dip/Triple Dip. These let you use two or three items during one turn in battle. It costs a few FP to use, but it's a lifesaver for tough bosses. Like Bowser, ugh.
- D-Down Jump. This jump causes some damage and disables 2 points of the opponent's defense. Roxxor.
- Quick Change. Lets you swap party members in battle without losing a turn to do it.
- Dodge Master. Makes the Action Command work more often.
- Happy Heart/Happy Flower. These slowly restore HP/FP in battle. Hmm, reminds me of Leftovers from Pokémon... Just a whole freaking lot more ineffective! It's something like ONE HP/FP every five turns! What?!
- Damage Dodge. This reduces the amount of damage you take if you're successful with the Action Command.
- Power Rush/Mega Rush. Both of these boost Mario's attack power when his HP gets low.
- Last Stand. When his HP's low, Mario recieves half as much damage from attacks as usual.
- Close Call. Enemies sometimes fail to attack when Mario's HP is low. Feeling lucky, are we? :s
- Pretty Lucky/Lucky Day. Enemies sometimes fail to attack, period. Yes, so very lucky...
- Heart Finder/Flower Finder/Money Money. Gives you more hearts, flowers or coins than usual after defeating an enemy.
- I Spy. Points out hidden stuff you might not notice or bother looking for otherwise.
- Chill Out. Protects you from enemies' First Strikes. Hehe, I thought this was a Star Power... Maybe it's both. :D
- Refund. Gives you coins when you use an item in battle. Useful for Mario's poorer days... Gambling in the Playhouse is bad, Mario!
Problem solving
Now, there's no way I'm going to write a huge walkthru for Paper Mario because it's usually pretty straightforward. But I will share some hints to puzzles and problems that are annoying to solve on your own, and if you don't see what you're looking for, mail in a suggestion! I'll see what I can do to help and post the solution.
Just plain stuck: So you can't go any further and your partners can't do a gosh darn thing to help. Chances are you need a new partner. Can't cross that wide gap on Mt. Rugged? Go bug Parakarry. Need to cross some water? Get Sushie to help you. Figure out who you've seen that might help you and solve their problem-du-jour so that they'll join your team. Also, the game likes to make sure you USE all your partners except Goombario out of battle, so think before you rush into those situations!
Bribery is fun!: If somebody wants an item, usually that item will be easy to find in the immediate area. Like Moustafa in Dry Dry Outpost, he's got a hankering for a Lemon and those just happen to grow nearby, but he's too lazy to go get it himself.
The mirror maze: In Shiver Mountain, you'll find a freaky maze of ice, mirrors and shape-shifting enemies. This place can get a tad confusing, but looking carefully at your surroundings can help. Sometimes walls are just illusions, or reflections will give you hints on what to do. At one point, you'll need to use Kooper's reflection to hit an illusionary switch across a gap (it took me ages to figure that one out ^_^). Crystal Palace also enjoys throwing more than one of your partners back at you when you use them. In other words, CLONES! Pay close attention to what they say. For example, if a Kooper calls Mario "Moron," you know that he's the fake.
The hedge maze: Flower Fields has a maze worthy of a minotaur. *watches the non-Greek-mythology-fans get confused* There's spaces in the shrubbery that you can't see, so press along the walls as you walk and you'll eventually find the path you're looking for. I personally find it helpful to have a flying partner out, like Bow or Parakarry, to make it easier to see where you are in the tall flora.
Strain your brain: In RPG games, there's rarely anything that serves no purpose at all. If you find something that seems useless, try everything you can think of to do something with it. For instance, take Whacka the mole-thing on Mt. Rugged. He's friendly, cheerful and entirely useless. That is, until you smack him cruelly on the head with your Hammer, and then he provides you with a Whacka's Bump. This freaky food (?!) restores 25 HP and 25 FP, but you can only get a total of 5 before poor Whacka dies. Another day, another death. So, nice weather. :D
Be suspicious: So you're looking at that weird fat crow dude and wondering whether you should accept his offer to boost a stat for 60-some-odd coins. Don't do it! There aren't a whole lot of shady characters in this game, but they're pretty obvious. Aforementioned fat crow dude, also known as Chet Rippo, will boost one stat and reduce another, which ends up being a total waste of money. But at the same time....
Be trusting: The Mushroom Kingdom is full of friendly people. Do nice things for them, and they'll do nice things for you. Like Koopa Koot, he's awfully annoying, but you can still get some Star Pieces from him if you play your cards right. Koopa Koot is on some pretty bad crack! He sends Mario on thirty taskes, and the majority of the time, Mario's reward is one coin! And he complains about the YOUNGER generation...!
Mix things up: Use all your different attacks equally in battle. Alternate regular attacks with special attacks, and throw in a Star Power or attack item once in a while. Not only will this make sure that you don't run out of FP or Star energy too quickly, but it'll help you figure out enemies' weaknesses. And of course, another SMART move is carry recovery items like Mushrooms and Syrups, sillies!
Money makes the world go 'round: If in doubt, go see Merlon (the wizard in the house with the spinning roof). He'll give you some advice for the low, low price of 10 coins. Excuse me while I count my coins...
And on a more personal note, I hate how stupid Bowser is in PM! It's like he got a lobotomy after Mario RPG! May all of Nintendo's crops fail! I think Bowser is actually kinda cute in PM! :D He has a crush on Peach! It's adorable! Also, I'd just like to say, head on over to Mario and Luigi's pad, into their bedroom and stomp on irregular floor panel in front of the desk for some good comic relief provided by Luigi's secret basement and his DIARY! :D