Paper Mario 64 / Characters

Super Mario Bros. Main Character Index
Main characters: The Mario Brothers | Allies (The Princesses) | The Koopa Kingdom (Bowser — Bowser Jr. — The Koopalings — Other High-Ranking Subordinates — Bosses) | Assorted Nasties
RPG characters: Super Mario RPG | Paper Mario (64 — The Thousand-Year Door — Super — Sticker Star — Color Splash — The Origami King) | Mario & Luigi (Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser)
Spinoff series: Yoshi's Island | Luigi's Mansion | Mario Golf | Mario Tennis | Super Mario Maker | Donkey Kong series (Kongs) | Wario series (Wario and Waluigi)
Crossovers: Punch-Out!! | Super Smash Bros. | Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games | Skylanders | Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle | Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Other media: The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach! | Super Mario Bros. (DiC) | Super Mario Bros. (1993) | The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Characters from Paper Mario.

Click here to go back to the Paper Mario series character page index, and here for the Super Mario Bros. characters page.

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Mario's Partners

General

Action Girl: All the ladies in the party (Bombette, Lady Bow, Watt, and Sushie) definitely qualify. They are just as capable in battle as Mario and the guys, and just as eager to help him in his quest to save Peach, defeat Bowser, and restore wishes to the world.
Badass Crew: All of Mario's partners are equally capable of beating up any enemies they encounter in their quest to save the world.
Gender-Equal Ensemble: There are four male party members (Goombario, Kooper, Parakarry, and Lakilester) and four female party members (Bombette, Lady Bow, Watt^note, and Sushie).
Monster Allies: All party members are members of species that are traditionally Mario enemies. Though to be fair, most of them (Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry^note, Lady Bow, and Lakilester^note) are not the only members of their species to be friendly allies in the game. In the case of Lady Bow, no Boos appear as enemies whatsoever. As for Sushie and Watt, they are the only members of their respective species to appear in the game.
Multinational Team: All party members represent and/or are recruited from a different region or locale of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Static Character: Aside from some unique dialogue if they happen to be the active party member in certain situations, most party members don't really have much character development or a personal arc to resolve after their introduction and recruitment, aside from general goodwill towards Mario and desire to help save the world's wishes. The exceptions would be Lady Bow and Lakilester, who have either a personal stake in and/or a personal relation with the situation and bosses of the chapters they are recruited in.

Goombario

"Hey Mario! I'm Goombario. I'm your biggest fan!"

Mario's first partner throughout the entire series, Goombario is a small but highly intelligent young lad who knows something about everything. His main ability is his "Tattle" ability, which doesn't do much for you gameplay-wise, but which can provide advice to you and make HP bars for enemies you've used it on visible.

Angel Face, Demon Face: In order to signify that he's a "good" Goomba, after years of evil ones, he has more rounded teeth and Blush Stickers on his cheeks.
Ascended Fanboy: He's a fan of all of Mario's adventures, and here he gets to join along in one of them.
Blue Means Smart One: Goombario is the only one of Mario's partners associated with the colour blue (his blue cap). He is also the game's Exposition Fairy, and, when uses his "Tattle" command (in and out of battle), he blabs a description about a character or place.
Blush Sticker: He has a pair of these, like his successor Goombella, as a visual signifier of his being a friendly ally instead of a common Mook.
Charged Attack: He gets the ability to charge his basic headbonk attack on his first level-up.
Deadpan Snarker: While most of his tattles are rather objective in nature, he still has plenty of snarky moments. A few examples:
"Ah, Toad Town Tunnels! Visit its scenic filthy streams that lead to who-knows-where! It's spectacularly disgusting! Come stay awhile! If you're not totally grossed out the first night, you stay for free!" - In the sewers
"You know, there sure are a lot of rocks in the desert. Before I came here, I thought there was just sand. But there are rocks, too. Whoopee." - In the desert
"Ah yes! Some more sand and some more cacti! (...) Look, when I signed on for this adventure, I was under the impression that there would be no boredom involved." - Also in the desert
"It's like a sea filled with lava. Welcome to the Lava Sea! Wanna swim? I'm just joking, Mario." - In the volcano
Death of a Thousand Cuts: Multibonk only deals one damage per hit. However, it keeps hitting until the player misses an action command or the cap is reached, and with good reflexes and a good bit of patience it can stack up enough damage to significantly damage even a powerful foe.
Diminishing Returns for Balance: Multibonk will keep landing hits until either the player misses a command or the cap is reached, causing the attack to auto-fail. For balance, all hits after the first few only deal one damage.
Does Not Like Spam: As revealed in a few of his tattle logs, Goombario does not like eating fish.
Enemy Scan: His signature power is the ability to suss out information on enemies' stats and abilities.
Exposition Fairy: He's mostly focused on providing information on enemies and how to battle them effectively.
Generation Xerox: His grandfather Goompa once was a traveler and a skilled fighter, Goombario becomes both over the course of the story. Additionally, both Goombario and Goompa have Vitriolic Best Friends who are Koopas (Kooper and Koopa Koot respectively).
Likes Older Women: Implied in the English version, but in the Japanese version, he outright states it when tattling Merluvlee and Misstar.
Hero Worship: He's a huge fan of Mario, which was how he eventually became one of his party allies.
Irony: A triple whammy, all relating to his species:
- He's a Goomba who's the team's Exposition Fairy. Goombas are usually depicted as being rather unintelligent.
- He's a Mario fan. Goombas are the most common enemies Mario runs into.
- His sole method of attack is functionally identical to Mario's jump, which named the Goomba Stomp trope for a reason.
Meaningful Name: His name is a portmanteau of "Goomba" and "Mario". He's a Mario Fan Boy.
Monster Allies: He's one of the earlier examples of a friendly Goomba in the series.
Mr. Exposition: He's basically a walking encyclopedia with GPS.
Precocious Crush: He mentions being smitten by quite a few females in the game, all of whom are likely much older than him, such as Merluvlee, her sister Merlee, Vanna T., and Chanterelle.
Tagalong Kid: His age is the Goomba equivalent of a young boy, and he follows Mario throughout the game as a party ally.
Use Your Head: His primary attack is the Headbonk, where he headbutts enemies to deal a little bit of damage.
Vitriolic Best Friends: A few of his tattles seem to imply that he and Kooper have this kind of relationship.

Kooper

"I swear, I, Kooper, will follow you anywhere, even to the ends of the earth!"

Mario's second partner is Kooper, an adventurous Koopa. He idolizes the famous explorer Kolorado and wants to be just like him. He has the ability to fling his shell and come back like a boomerang — even across the air!

Ascended Fanboy: Of Kolorado at the ending of the game. He basically fullfills his main duty for joining Mario, in that he joins Kolorado as an archeologist. Judging by his reaction upon initially meeting Mario, he seems to have a similar amount of admiration towards the plumber as well.
Blue Is Heroic: He's a Koopa ally with a blue shell.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: How do you know he's the Koopa who's going to join you? Because he's the one with a blue shell.
Crutch Character: While useful for the early game, he falls out of favor as the game goes on thanks to other party members being able to do most anything he can. Kooper on the other hand is held back by his inability to attack flying enemies.
Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: His Ultra Rank ability, Fire Shell. Being a fire attack, it comes with all the advantages (dealing bonus damage or One-Hit Kill to certain enemies) and disadvantages (dealing no damage to fire or fire-immune enemies).
Friend-or-Idol Decision: In the ending, after he successfully becomes part of Kolorado's expedition team, Parakarry gives him a letter inviting him to a party at Princess Peach's castle. This gets him to debate whether he should continue working with Kolorado or attend the party instead, but luckily for him, Kolorado sends him to the party, anyway.
The Generic Guy: He's pretty much the most normal of Mario's partners. He also joins Mario because he's an aspiring archeologist looking to fit the same grounds as Kolorado, the person he admires.
Incendiary Exponent: His Ultra Rank ability, Fire Shell, sets his shell on fire before attacking. It's one of the few attacks that will put down a Dry Bones permanently.
Naked People Trapped Outside: This is what befalls him when you first meet him. You have to hunt down his shell from a rampant pack of Fuzzies.
One-Hit Kill: His Ultra Rank ability, Fire Shell. Being a fire attack, it will instantly kill Dry Bones (technically +10 damage, but since Dry Bones only have 8 HP, the effect is the same). Being a fire attack, it also keeps them dead.
Playing with Fire: When upgraded to Ultra-Rank, he gains the ability Fire Shell.
Scarf of Asskicking: He wears a red neckerchief.
Vitriolic Best Friends: He's hinted to be this with Goombario according to some of the latter's tattles.
What the Hell, Hero?: If Mario falls for the Duplighost's tricks and hammers the real Kooper, he seems disappointed. He gets especially annoyed when they transform into other characters and Mario still hammers him, Kooper accuses him of doing this on purpose.
Wingding Eyes: A successful dizzy shell will leave enemies with this kind of swirly eyes.

Bombette

"See that? You see what I bring to the party, Mario?"

Mario's third partner is a fiery young Bob-omb named Bombette. After he saves her from imprisonment in the Koopa Bros. Fortress, she pledges to join him on his quest. She can blow things up to destroy rocks and cracked walls, among other things. What we'd like to know, though, is how she's still... actually, never mind.

Action Bomb: She's explosive in every which way, and can kick some ass when fully leveled up. Unlike most examples, notably, she somehow comes back every time she blows up, no worse for wear.
Awesome, but Impractical: Her Ultra Rank ability, Mega Bomb, essentially applies her Bomb ability to all enemies on-screen, for a maximum of 7 damage without power-ups. However, it comes at the cost of 8 FP, the highest of any ability in the game. By the point it can be obtained, there are other characters with all-hitting abilities for less FP (Lakilester's Spiny Surge for 4 FP, and Parakarry's Air Raid and Sushie's Tidal Wave for 6 FP each). The slightly higher damage potential of Mega Bomb is fairly inconsequential compared to its higher FP cost (and a very skilled player could potentially make Tidal Wave deal more damage than Mega Bomb).
- Even her Super Rank ability, Power Bomb, has shades of this due to its high FP cost of 6, which is quite a bit at the point it can be obtained (beginning of Chapter 2), and the same as or more than other party member's Ultra Rank abilities. However, since it's the only ability to deal such high damage to multiple enemies before obtaining the Ultra Stone, it can potentially be a Disc-One Nuke.
Braids of Action: Her fuse looks like a blonde braid.
Celibate Heroine: She could pretty much have any guy of the Bob-omb race she wanted, but is perfectly happy on her own.
Cute and Psycho: A tiny bit during the Crystal Palace scene where four Duplighosts copy her. She's so upset by the copying that she insists Mario hammer the offenders, then admits that if Mario had bopped her instead, she was of a mind to blow him up the next time he slept... followed by the Bob-omb equivalent of a peck on the cheek.
Disc-One Nuke: Her Super Rank ability, Power Bomb. It is available by the beginning of Chapter 2, should Mario find and use the first Super Block in Mt. Rugged on her. It essentially applies Bombette's Bomb ability to all ground enemies, dealing up to 6 damage at that rank without power-ups (+1 against fire enemies). Until Mario obtains the Ultra Stone halfway through Chapter 5, it will be the single most powerful multi-hit ability available. Hence probably why it's offset by a very high FP cost of 6, especially at that point in the game.
Dude Magnet: Bombette has no trouble attracting the attention on male Bob-ombs, whether she wants to or not.
Forgot About Her Powers: When Mario first meets her imprisoned, she eagerly demonstrates her abilities by blowing up the wall of a cell she's in to form an escape route. It then becomes apparent to her that she could have done that the whole time.
It's Personal: Although not quite to the extent of Lady Bow, part of why Bombette joins Mario is to get back at the Koopa Bros. for enslaving the Bob-ombs in the fortress and imprisoning her in the first place.
Nice Girl: Aside from her explosive temper she's a real sweetheart.
Non-Fatal Explosions: Repeated detonations violent enough to shake the screen just result in her fluttering back down from above, otherwise unharmed.
No-Sell: Her bomb abilities are completely nullified against Buzzy Beetles (including Chan) and Spike Tops if they are not flipped over.
One-Hit Kill: All her bomb abilities will inflict this on Bob-ombs, Bullet and Bombshell Bills, and Dry Bones (technically, they just deal +10 damage against Dry Bones, but since Dry Bones only have 8 HP max, the effect is the same).
Pink Means Feminine: She's actually not the first pink Bob-omb in the series, but she is the first one identified as female, and she just so happens to be pink.
Something Only They Would Say: How to identify her from the four other Duplighost impostors copying her in Chapter 7? She's the only one who doesn't add hearts, stars, or unnecessary extra question marks, exclamation marks, or periods in her statement. She also has the least patience with the charade, is the first to demand Mario hammer the impostors, and tells him that she will never forgive him if he messes it up.
Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: She's the only party member with explosion attacks, and the Koopa Bros., the bosses of Chapter 1 where she is obtained, can be flipped over immediately while stacked by explosion attacks. Hmm.
Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: In addition to being pink, she has a blonde braid for a fuse and a heart-shaped key.
This Is Unforgivable!: In Chapter 7, besides the Bombette imposters using unnecessary punctuation marks or symbols in their speech, the real Bombette threatens to never forgive Mario if he messes up and hammers her.
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: As mentioned above, her bomb abilities can One-Hit Kill certain enemies. They also deal +1 damage to fire enemies, are also the only way to permakill Dry Bones (besides fire attacks), and are the only way to flip over Clefts (besides Quake Hammer). In her debut chapter, her Bomb ability is the only way (besides a POW block) to flip all the Koopa Bros. while they are stacked on each other in a single hit.
Tsundere: Has shades of this in Chapter 7 when imitated by four Duplighosts. She's threatens to never forgive Mario if he messes up and hammers her. If he correctly hammers only the imposters, she reveals she was planning to bomb him in his sleep if he got it wrong, but rewards him with a kiss on the cheek.
Tomboy: Described as such by Merlon.
Unwanted Harem: A rare female example! Bombette has several admirers (including a really persistent Dogged Nice Guy Bruce), but isn't interested in any one of them.
Use Your Head: Her default ability, Body Slam (since her entire body is essentially a head).

Watt

"You're super great! You're the greatest great guy! I think you're the best!"

Mario's 6th party member is also his youngest. Mario rescues her from imprisonment in the Big Lantern Ghost's lantern in Shy Guy's Toy Box. She's a Sparky (specifically, the daughter of the original Li'l Sparky) and can light up, showing Mario hidden things. She also has the ability to attack people through their defense, making her incredibly useful in battle.

Ambiguous Gender: invokedHer introductory text refers to her as female, but her Super Block upgrades and her Catch Card in Super Paper Mario refer to her as male, and her design itself isn't very telling. Word of God has confirmed that she's female.
Armor-Piercing Attack: Electro Dash ignores defense stats, and is a basic attack that costs no FP. For enemies that cannot be "flipped" to remove their armor, or enemies that are simultaneously flying, spiked, and shelled, Watt can always hit them for full damage. This trick is also useful against a number of bosses.
Badass Adorable: She's a young, cute child who's also very useful in a fight.
Good Parents: From what little we know about her through the letter Watt gets from her during the endgame, Watt's mother is a very pleasant woman. She's open-minded through letting Watt make frequent visits to Shy Guy's Toy Box by herself to have fun, and upon hearing of General Guy's invasion of Toad Town, her Mama Bear instincts kicked in and made her travel to Toad Town to see if Watt was okay, only to learn that Mario had rescued her, and asking Watt to give her warmest regards to the people who saved her.
Little Miss Badass: Young as she is, she's capable in a fight and immune to electric damage.
Pinball Protagonist: In-game, she's an extremely powerful party member. In-universe, however, she serves almost no purpose to the story, being held captive by the Big Lantern Ghost, unlike the other Partners, who all serve a narrative purpose.^note
Shock and Awe: Being a living ball of electricity, all of her moves are electricity-related.
Status Buff: Turbo Charge boosts Mario's Attack. This can be very useful for boosting power during battle.
Status Effects: She can paralyze enemies with Power Shock (one enemy) and Mega Shock (multiple enemies). However, due to these moves being RNG, they both can be hit-or-miss even when the meter is built up players can still have the moves fail on them, even against enemies its normally effective against. Power Shock especially.

Sushie

"Hmmm. Well, I've never heard of you before. You must be from far away or something."

Mario's 7th party member swings it right back around in terms of age — Sushie the Cheep Cheep is getting up there, but she's still got it! She can swim, and helps ferry Mario across water. Her water-type attacks are also pretty useful when fiery baddies come a-knockin'.

Action Mom: One of the letters at the Postman's office in Toad Town reveal that she has a daughter. Not to mention she's downright dangerous in battles.
Barrier Warrior: Her Water Block ability raises defense by 1 against all attacks, and by 2 against fire and explosion attacks.
Difficult, but Awesome: Her Squirt ability, compared to Parakarry's similar Shell Shot, both of which deal the same max 7 damage and can hit any enemy unconditionally. Squirt has a relatively strange action command of holding A, but NOT allowing the bar to fill up completely (unlike Body Slam and Electro Dash), instead keeping the gauge within a certain "sweet spot." Squirt still has two advantages though: First, Squirt will always deal at least 3 damage minus enemy defense (whereas Shell Shot deals 0 if it misses). Second, it has +2 damage against fire enemies (of which there are plenty in Chapter 5 where she is obtained, including the chapter boss).
- Tidal Wave is similar to Air Raid in that it hits all onscreen enemies unconditionally. However, its action command functions so that it deals 1 additional damage per correct input. Hypothetically, this means its damage potential is limitless, depending on the amount of correct inputs (though in reality this is limited to 14 by the game engine. Practically, it averages around 6 damage, same as Air Raid). It still retains the +2 damage bonus against fire enemies though.
Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Her Squirt and Tidal Wave abilities deal an additional 2 damage to fire-based enemies, and her Water Block raises Mario's defense by 2 (instead of just 1) against fire and explosion attacks. To Sushie's immense benefit, no enemies in the game have immunity or innate defense against water attacks, making her water element purely a net positive.
Making a Splash: All of her attack except for Belly Flop involve controlling and manipulating water.
Master of All: Both she and Parakarry are very similar moveset wise (Belly Flop = Sky Dive, Squirt = Shell Shot, Tidal Wave = Air Raid.) All her moves also have the same FP cost as Parakarry's; as such she can do the same amount of damage and serve the same point of versatility as him. Water Block is also a nice defense option that actually has viable if niche usage (unlike Air Lift.) Unlike Parakarry though, her water abilities have bonuses against fire enemies and fire and explosion attacks, giving her a slight advantage. Her only flaw is the slightly more complicated inputs to activate the full power of her moves, which makes Parakarry the more easily accessible one.
Locked Out of the Loop: As indicated by her quote above. She's the only party member who seems to not know who Mario or Princess Peach are, and after saving the Yoshi kids, joins him merely because she sees his quest as a very romantic story.
Meaningful Name: Her name is a reference to a Japanese dish, sushi.
My Beloved Smother: According to her character tattle, the Yoshi kids she babysits see her as meddlesome and as trying to control their lives. She also scolds Mario for planning to Mt. Lavalava due to how dangerous it is, but ultimately joins him to better protect him (and because she thinks his quest to save Peach is romantic).
Never Mess with Granny: She's literally a grandma — her daughter is having kids — and a competent fighter in her own right.
A Pig Named "Porkchop": Her name is derived from "sushi", a Japanese dish which, among other ingredients, contains raw fish. Her daughter, Sashimie, is similarly based on the dish of sashimi.
Power-Up Mount: She can give Mario rides across bodies of water.
Older Than They Look: She looks like a young Cheep Cheep, but is actually a grandma.
Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: She's a water-focused fighter who's strong against fiery enemies. You pick her up right before the fire dungeon.
Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Her hobby is reading romance novels. She joins Mario after interpreting his quest to rescue Princess Peach as a romance story.

Lakilester / Spike

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paper_mario_lakilester_artwork.png

"World peace, huh? Isn't that a bit melodramatic? Still, I must admit there's a certain manly charm to having such a noble purpose."

Mario's final party member is a Lakitu — and he prefers to go by Spike. He starts out as a member of Bowser's cronies, but joins Mario so that he can shape up for his girlfriend, Lakilulu. He can carry Mario across hazardous surfaces — and it also happens to be faster than walking speed.

Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite complaining about Lakilulu embarrassing him all the time, he admits that at the same time, he does love her for it, too.
Being Evil Sucks: He admits that being part of Huff N. Puff's gang isn't as great as he thought, and all he's done since joining is pick unnecessary fights with people.
Blow You Away: He can blow enemies away with Hurricane.
Cool Shades: He wears a pair of sunglasses instead of his species' normal goggles.
Defeat Means Friendship: Mario must defeat him in battle before he joins the party.
Do Not Call Me "Paul": Whenever anyone calls him by his actual name, he angrily retorts that he doesn't like going by that name, and demands that he be called by his preferred name, Spike. The only ones who comply with his desire to be called Spike are his friend on Team Lakitu, Flight, and his boss, Huff N. Puff.
Embarrassing First Name: He considers his given name to be very embarrassing, especially since it sounds like "lackluster", and wants to be called Spike instead.
Good Feels Good: He decides that this is the case after helping you destroy the Puff Puff machine, firmly cementing his Heel–Face Turn.
Heel–Face Turn: Prior to meeting Mario, he worked for Huff N. Puff, the boss of the Flower Fields chapter. Upon his defeat, he joins Mario's party, but only at the prompting of his girlfriend.
Hyperspace Arsenal: He has a seemingly endless supply of Spiny Eggs to chuck at his foes.
Long-Range Fighter: Although not the only party member with a long-range attack, he's the only party member who has one as his default ability, Spiny Flip. This makes Lakilester the only party member (including Mario) who can attack any enemy whatsoever (including spiked, fire, airborne, and ceiling-based enemies) at no FP cost or need of badges.
Punny Name: His name is a spin on "lackluster", which is why he prefers the cooler name of Spike.
Redemption Demotion: His attack power is 4 during his battle, but is lowered when he joins Mario.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The self-pitying, unconfident blue to Lakilulu's spunky, overly-protective red.
Status Buff: Cloud Nine boosts Mario's evasion.
Useless Useful Spell: His Ultra Rank ability, Hurricane, which can potentially blow enemies away and out of battle. It has all the disadvantages of Air Lift and Spook (reliant on RNG, no Star Points earned for enemies eliminated this way), and a higher (5) FP cost.
Women Prefer Strong Men: All that tough posturing is so that his girlfriend Lakilulu can have someone to admire. After he's defeated, he joins Mario so he can shape up and become a truly strong person.

Villains

Jr. Troopa

"Don't think you've won, Mario! I swear to you, I'm gonna beat you so bad next time!!"

A young Koopa that still wears his eggshell. He fancies himself a bully, but is easily beaten at the start of the game. He returns with a vengeance multiple times at various points in the game.

Bait-and-Switch Boss: Switched with the Koopa Bros. They show up and boast that they Took a Level in Badass. Then Jr. Troopa shows up knocks them all out.
Boss Corridor: The final encounter with Jr. Troopa (where he bounces away the Koopa Bros.) is in a room in Bowser's Castle that follows a long corridor where four Duplighosts are fought.
Bratty Half-Pint: He's small, he's loud, and he's persistent.
The Bully: He used to boot Goombario and company out of the forest near Goomba Village. Trying to do the same to Mario ends quite poorly for him.
But for Me, It Was Tuesday: You can invoke this on him during the second fight against him by answering "no" when he asks if Mario remembers their first fight.
Butt-Monkey: If he's not overestimating the defensive prowess of his shell, he's getting himself lost in Forever Forest and pretending he isn't terrified, or swimming to Lavalava Island and back again, or picking yet another losing battle in the middle of the frozen wilderness... which gets him encased in a block of ice by the time you come back around. His manic desperation to defeat Mario has also unwittingly earned him a reputation as a weirdo.
The Cameo: In the image attached at the end of the e-mail that the real Zip Toad sends in The Thousand-Year Door, he can be seen flying in the sky in the background, outside of the train window.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Defeats the Koopa Bros. with absolutely no effort towards the end of the game.
Determinator: Swims all the way to Lavalava Island and all the way back, and somehow makes it all the way to the top of Bowser's Ominous Floating Castle at roughly the same time as Mario to knock out the Koopa Bros. to put up yet another fight against Mario. Jr. Troopa's swimming trips are played with when he fights Mario in the port. His HP gets cut in half due to making two long swimming trips, which eats at his stamina.
Developer's Foresight: If you're equipped with the Spike Shield, jumping on Jr. Troopa after he claims he's invulnerable to all of Mario's tactics in the post-chapter 5 fight will have him incredulously exclaim how he wasn't expecting Mario to jump on him, no less hurt him and ask if that's even legal.
Disproportionate Retribution: Wants to beat the crap out of Mario just because he set foot in his "playground" without his permission.
Eggshell Clothing: Wears a cracked eggshell around his body. He also uses it as a shield in later battles.
Flight: Gains the ability to sprout wings and fly from his third encounter onward.
Foregone Victory: The first fight with him is impossible to lose, no matter what.
Forgot About His Powers: After losing the fight in the port, he remembers that he has wings and could have flown to the island and back, thus avoiding half of his HP getting drained at the start of the fight.
Gang of Bullies: According to Goompa, he's the boss of one of these. We never see any other members of the gang, nor are they mentioned again after the first encounter with Jr. Troopa.
Goldfish Poop Gang: Shows up numerous times over the course of the game and remains a Butt-Monkey throughout, though he does manage to utterly destroy the Koopa Bros. in his final appearance.
Human Popsicle: Shortly after his fight in Shiver Snowfield, he becomes encased in ice. He gets better.
Instant Runes: In the fifth and final battles with him, he can use the same circle-square-triangle magic projectiles that the Magikoopas use.
Lone Wolf Boss: Although he is a Koopa, he's not affiliated with Bowser. His beef with Mario is entirely personal.
Magic Wand: He uses one in his fifth and sixth battles. He also uses it to duel Kammy Koopa in the ending parade.
Medium Awareness: After his swimming trips, he takes notice that half his HP has dropped from the swim.
Mind Screw: His final appearance boggles the mind of the last Bowser Door.
Oh, Crap!: His duel with Kammy Koopa during the credits ends when Bowser gets caught in between their spells. Their reactions indicate this was unintended.
Plot-Irrelevant Villain: He has no connection to the game's plot, he just can't get over losing to Mario. The only thing he really does in the story is curbstomp the Koopa Bros. and replace them as your opponent.
Recurring Boss: Fought six times, with the final time being the strongest.
Red Herring: During the false murder mystery in the seventh chapter one penguin tells Mario that he suspects Jr. Troopa to have murdered Mayor Penguin due to Jr. apparently making quite a scene in Shiver City shortly before Mario arrived. The penguin is later disappointed to learn that Jr. Troopa was uninvolved in the mystery.
The Rival: He is the game's secondary antagonist for all intents and purposes; not very plot-relevant but still a common obstacle.
Sequential Boss: The last encounter with Jr. Troopa in Bowser's Castle (which is the last fight before the Bowser boss fights) has Jr. go through his all-star plethora of transformations that he attacked you with throughout the game as the fight progresses.
Shock and Awe: He gains a lightning strike attack in his final battle.
Sore Loser: After every battle with Mario, he refuses to accept defeat. Even when he’s defeated in the final area, he vows that he will perfect his skills again and find a way to defeat Mario.
The Spiny: He gains a spike that hurts any character that makes contact with it. Mario having the correct badge equipped can bypass this just like any other spiked enemy.
Stalker without a Crush: Jr. Troopa is so determined to defeat Mario that he’s willing to travel across the Mushroom Kingdom just to accomplish it. No matter what, he somehow knows exactly where Mario is.
Starter Villain Stays: Not counting the Hopeless Boss Fight with Bowser, he's the first major opponent Mario faces, and he continues to harass him over the course of the game. Not that he's a real threat.
Took a Level in Badass: Obnoxious goof that he is, he has something new to throw at Mario in every fight. He also manages to one-shot all four Koopa Bros, a group that would have trounced him instead had he retained his stats from the prologue.
Varying Tactics Boss: Jr. Troopa adds something new to his arsenal every time you fight him.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: After some of his fights, he'll just lie there, beaten and unable to do anything. You can then proceed to jump on him, hit him with your hammer, or even bomb him as many times as you want.
Warm-Up Boss: At first... but he later gets much, MUCH tougher.
We Will Meet Again: Yells something of the sort every time he's defeated, even after your final battle against him.
Wizard Duel: During the end credits parade, he and Kammy Koopa get into a magic spell battle.

Goomba King

"Bwa ha ha! I'm no ordinary Goomba... I am Goomboss, the great Goomba, the grand pooh-bah Goomba."

Once an ordinary Goomba, until he begged Bowser to use the Star Rod to make him a king, which also greatly increased his size. Along with his minions Red Goomba and Blue Goomba, he is the first boss Mario fights.

Rather noteworthy is the fact that unlike most characters, let alone things originating from the Paper Mario series in general, the Goomba King directly appears in a couple of other games in the franchise outside of the role-playing games, under the name of Goomboss.

Alliterative Name: Kuri King in the Japanese version.
Boss-Arena Idiocy: He fights alongside a conveniently-placed tree, which can be attacked to have a chestnut fall out of it and squash both him and his minions.
Flunky Boss:
- The fight with him brings back the Red and Blue Goombas. This would count as a Wolfpack Boss if it weren't for the Goombas being heavily worn down from the battle they just had with Mario to the point that they have no more health than regular Goombas do. Mario can even attack a nearby tree to cause a chestnut to fall, which instantly defeats both Goombas and shaves off some of Goomba King's health.
- In Super Mario 64 DS, he summons a platoon of Goombas to help him. The key to hurt him is to get one of the Goombas to hit him- or throw it as an egg as Yoshi.
Graceful Loser: He pretends to act this way towards Mario after their fight, but only because he's trying to stop Mario from hitting the switch releasing the bridge.
Inconsistent Dub: Introduced as the "Goomba King" in Paper Mario. He shows up in later games under the name of "Goomboss", but shares the same name in Japanese. Incidentally, the Chestnut King from the Super Luigi story in Thousand-Year Door also shares his name in Japanese.
King Mook: He's made into the king of the Goombas, courtesy of the Star Rod's magic.
Manly Facial Hair: The largest and strongest of the Goombas sports an equally large mustache.
Mook Promotion: He was originally just a normal Goomba, but Bowser used the Star Rod to turn him into a King Mook because he begged him to.
Turns Red: In Super Mario 64 DS, whenever he gets hit, he gets angrier and gets larger.
Starter Villain: He serves as the main boss of the prologue in Paper Mario. Not so in Super Mario 64 DS, though you still need to beat him to free Mario and complete the game.
Surrounded by Idiots: He has this reaction when Red Goomba tells him that they hid the switch releasing the bridge in the grass outside instead of inside the locked fortress.
A Twinkle in the Sky: He gets blasted into the sky by the very bridge that he stole.
Warm-Up Boss: He's the first boss in the game that isn't a Foregone Victory for Mario, but still very easy to defeat.

Koopa Bros.

"HI-YAA!! Here come the Koopa Bros.!! Uh-huh! Oh yeah! We're the coolest of cool!"

The guardians of Eldstar and a quartet of masked Koopas that rely on teamwork to defeat their opponents. They start as the first major boss as the game, but return later for revenge... but are promptly defeated by a deranged Jr. Troopa. They look familiar...

Bad Boss: They essentially enslaved the Bob-ombs living with them in the Fortress. According to the imprisoned Bob-ombs, the Koopa Bros. tried to work them 25 hours a day.
Bait-and-Switch Boss: Their reappearance in Bowser's Castle, where they are tossed aside by Jr. Troopa with little effort.
Color-Coded Characters: Their main distinguishing characteristics are the colors of their shells, masks, and shoes.
Corrupted Character Copy: While they are obviously based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, being a Sibling Team of Totally Radical anthropomorphic turtles with each member possessing a colorful mask, they are definitely not the good guys. Instead, they are Bowser's servants who delight in causing harm to Mario.
Face–Heel Turn: One of the Bob-Ombs imprisoned in the Koopa Bros. Fortress says that they were nice guys before Kammy Koopa and Bowser started showing an interest in them.
Family Theme Naming: The German translation names each one after the Italian name of a fruit or vegetable that relates to their color.
King Mook: Of Koopa Troopas, though by themselves they're barely any stronger than regular Koopas.
Laser-Guided Karma: They keep the Bob-ombs who won't submit to them locked in a jail cell in their castle. After the fight with them, they fall several storeys and are left imprisoned in that cell.
Law of Chromatic Superiority: Red is the leader, Black is the second-in-command, Yellow is third, and Green, the one who looks exactly like a normal Koopa Troopa, is last.
Leaning Tower of Mooks: The Koopa Bros. do this as their signature attack, spinning in their shells toward Mario as one stack. This is at a point in the game in which dangerous enemies deal 2 damage, and unless you catch on to the trick of their Puzzle Boss (tipping them over) they'll make short work of you.
Musical Nod:
- The fake Bowser battle theme is a remix of Bowser's battle theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.
- The Koopa Bros. themselves get a remix of the Hammer Bros. theme, also from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Paper-Thin Disguise:
- Their Toad disguises are black where the white should be and their Jerkass mannerisms clash hard with the behaviour of the rest of Toad Town. Merlon is not fooled for a moment by them and uses his magic to force them out of hiding.
- Their Bowser costume is no better, starting with the fact it's obviously a 3D model where the real Bowser is a paper figure just like Mario and co.
Palette Swap: Aside from the color of their mask, shell and shoes, they all look the same.
Punny Name: Or punny false name in this instance. Red Koopa apparently went by Nash T. (nasty) in his Toad disguise.
Sequential Boss: You have to take out their unconvincing Bowser costume before engaging the Koopas themselves.
Sibling Team: They're a set of Koopa brothers who work together to fight Mario. One of their attacks involves all of them stacked up on each other and deliver a devastating attack, which can do up to four points of damage to Mario.
Shout-Out: To the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, obviously. Colour-wise, they match with Super Sentai/Power Rangers, although they lack members coloured blue and pink.
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Once entering their fortress, they're established to be unrepentant slave drivers, forcing the Bob-ombs into grueling work conditions for constructing their fortress. One Bob-omb states that the Koopa Bros. force them to work 25 hours a day with absolutely no breaks.
Spin Attack: How they attack. They spin around in circles rapidly, then launch themselves at Mario.
Upgraded Boss: Subverted. After their defeat, Mario receives a letter where they vow to get payback for their previous encounter. Sure enough, they return in Bowser's Castle, having apparently become the "Super Ultra Mighty Koopa Bros. the Great" and claiming to be even stronger than before. Unfortunately for them, they're swatted away with zero effort by Jr. Troopa before the fight can begin.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: It's mentioned that, growing up, they were a fairly normal and nice group of brothers and existed peacefully with the Bob-ombs in their fortress until Bowser started paying attention to them and giving them things. Having Kent C. Koopa as a mentor probably didn't help either.
Wake-Up Call Boss: In their second phase, the Koopa Bros. can be challenging for newcomers who still didn't learn to manage their Flower Points: being Koopas, a jump attack deals no damage at this point until they are on their shells, and as their synchronized shell attack deals a lot of damage, you'll have to use the Multibounce attack or Kooper's Power Shell to avoid that or to counterattack quickly, but also to know when to use an item to recover HP without taking too much damage the next turn.
Wolfpack Boss: After destroying their fake Bowser machine, you fight all four Turtles on foot. They're a bit stronger than standard Koopa Troopas and have the ability to do a team-up attack on you.

Tutankoopa the Wizard

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tutankoopa.png

"You shouldn't mess with Tutankoopa, a faithful follower of King Bowser! Ooops... I mean... You shall regret this!"

The guardian of Mamar and a pharaoh Koopa that seems to have magical powers and control over several pet Chain Chomps. Hides in a hidden pyramid and tries to be intimidating, and when beaten, his Chomps turn on him.

Black Mage: He attacks Mario with some damaging spells.
Boisterous Weakling: Desperately tries to come across as a scary God-Emperor. Of the seven bosses Bowser gave Star Spirits to guard, he's probably the least threatening.
Boss Remix: His battle theme is one of the Dry Dry Ruins theme.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear: He's chased off by his own Chomp after he loses.
Flunky Boss: He calls his Chain Chomps out several times when fought.
Hoist by His Own Petard:
- He ends up getting chased out of the ruins altogether by his own Chain Chomp on his defeat.
- In the actual boss fight, he has an attack where he magically summons a giant Chomp and drops it on the ground causing debris to fall onto Mario and his partner, but occasionally, the attack will backfire causing the debris to fall on him, damaging him and leaving him vulnerable for a couple of turns.
Inept Mage: Despite claiming to be a master magician in battle he only has one magic attack, summoning a giant Chomp that hurts him just as often as his enemies. It's just as possible that this is meant to foreshadow his Chomps becoming fed up with him.
King Mook: Another Koopa boss, possibly a pharaoh-themed Magikoopa based on his robed appearance and status as a mage, though he'd appear to be quite outranked by Kammy in this regard both in rank and competence.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: While he occasionally speaks to his Chomps in an affectionate way, Goombario suggests that he overworks them and that they are growing resentful towards him. After beating him, Tutankoopa runs away as one of his Chomps attempts to maul him.
Nepharious Pharaoh: He is the boss of Dry Dry Ruins. He attempts to frighten Mario away, even calling himself the "remorseless king of the desert" in his first warning.
Orcus on His Throne: Much like the Crystal King, he's never shown causing any damage to Dry Dry Desert, instead patiently waiting for Mario in Dry Dry Ruins.

The "Invincible" Tubba Blubba

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pm_tubba_blubba_artwork.png

"I smell delicious ghosts! Open the doooooooor!!"

Originally the guardian of Skolar, until he fled his castle and was captured by Boos while making his way through Forever Forest. A giant Spike that eats Boos for snacks. Bowser made him unbeatable by removing his sentient heart, but once Tubba Blubba is reunited with it, he becomes a complete pushover.

Advancing Boss of Doom: Unlike the other, Orcus on His Throne bosses — he's a roaming threat until you find his Achilles' Heel. And his fight isn't even in his Castle, but at a Chekhov's Gun windmill he chases you back to.
Affably Evil: Tubba's Heart comes off as pretty chummy and as a whole he's not very malicious, but he does this while cheerfully devouring all the Boos he can find and helping out Bowser. It makes sense, given his true nature as an...
Anti-Villain: Only goes to Bowser for help because the Boos tormented him day and night, and once he's beaten, he apologizes to Mario and gives back all the (still alive, or existing, whatever you'd call it) Boos he ate.
Apologetic Attacker: He fights in the form of his Heart since you know his secret, and apologizes right before the battle fade-in. It's probably a hint of his normal personality.
Tubba Blubba: I can't let you out of here knowing the secret of my "invincible" body! Sorry, but here we go!
Armored But Frail: Even though he is invincible, he only has 10 HP. Once that invincibility is taken away from him, he can potentially be taken down in one turn.
Beat Still, My Heart: You have to fight his heart that's been separated from him in order to beat him.
Benevolent Boss: While we never see him interacting with his fellow Clubbas, he apparently allows them to sleep on the job without punishment. He even has a room in his castle for them to lounge around in.
Boss Remix: Ghost Gulping, which plays for both the confrontations where the party have a fighting chance, is a spooky battle theme that incorporates parts of his Leitmotifs heard throughout the chapter.
Charged Attack: His heart has one which does 12 damage on the second turn if it connects. It can be dodged with Bow's Outta Sight move.
Clipped-Wing Angel: Once Tubba reunites with his heart, he boasts how unstoppable he is now and fights you. It turns out that not only did this nullify his invincibility, but he only has 10 HP (compared to his heart's 50) and can be dispatched of quickly.
Creepy Monotone: His body never shows any emotion throughout the chapter, other than rage when he discovers Mario towards the end. Even when he expresses fear of Bowser's wrath or worry of a "suspicious man" in the castle, his voice and face remain neutral. Justified when we later learn that this Tubba is merely an empty shell controlled by his heart in the Windy Mill.
The Dreaded: The Boos, Mario's party, and even some of Bowser's guards are terrified of him.
Empty Shell: The heart is the "real" Tubba Blubba. His "invincible" body is just a shell that he controls from beneath the windmill.
Expy: He's a very blatant homage to the titular antagonist from The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body. In that story, the Giant had his heart gutted out and thrown down a well, which unknowingly made him invincible. Tubba Blubba is the same, only his heart was removed by choice with help from Bowser, and his heart is stored beneath a windmill instead of inside a well.
Fight Woosh: For some reason, his heart has one unique from every other battle, where the screen rapidly zooms out before cutting to the fight.
Food Chain of Evil: His favorite snack is ghosts.
Foreshadowing: The patch on his chest foreshadows that his heart is missing.
Freudian Excuse: The Boos loved to scare the crap out of him when he was a weakling. It didn't turn out well for them.
From Nobody to Nightmare: With more than a little Who's Laughing Now? to go with it. Tubba Blubba originally was a colossal weakling who was tormented by the Boos of Gusty Gulch. Then Bowser enchanted his heart to remove it from his body and allow it to pilot the body remotely, making that body invincible in the process. By the time Mario and company arrive, Tubba Blubba's made of habit of prowling the mountain to feed on his former tormentors.
Gentle Giant: He claims to be a sensitive guy trapped inside a large body after freeing all the Boos he ate. Considering how the Boos loved to scare him because he was easily frightened and he cried after Mario defeated him, it’s easy to take his word.
Glass Cannon: He has respectable attack power for an early game boss and is strong enough to make the suspended corridors of his castle crumble by jumping, but without his invincibility, his measly 10 HP completely screws him over.
Heartbeat Soundtrack: Shows up in his leitmotif and to a lesser extent, his battle theme. Fitting, given the true nature of his invincibility.
Hopeless Boss Fight: Getting into a battle with him while he's still invincible results in this.
Improbable Power Discrepancy: His heart somehow has five times as many Hit Points as he does.^note Tubba Blubba's most powerful attack is to jump onto Mario and crush him under his massive weight, dealing 6 damage. His heart's least powerful attack is to simply hop over to Mario and bump into him, dealing the same amount.
King Mook: A giant Spike boss. Clubbas, which are Spikes carrying clubs, patrol his castle.
Lazy Bum: Like his fellow Clubbas he enjoys sleeping, even when his Star Spirit escapes and he thinks that there is an intruder in his castle. His castle is also quite messy and ruined, likely because he and his Clubbas are too busy sleeping to clean or fix anything
Leitmotif: Including his battle theme he has four themes which all share a couple of motifs, with two tracks used more generally - Tubba Blubba's Castle is an imposing but silly-sounding theme played both when he first shows up and inside his home that fits his unassuming personality, while Tubba's Heart is a far more menacing and dangerous track that plays when he's on the prowl and before the climactic fight with his heart, with an audible hint to the source of his powers kicking in at points. The Castle Crumbles is the theme that kicks in during his Chase Scene, playing throughout the fortress and Gusty Gulch up until his Boss Battle.
Mighty Glacier: With his invincibility, he's a complete Juggernaut. Thankfully, it's not hard to evade him.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Not So Invincible After All crybaby or not, he's still a ghost-eating Juggernaut until you defeat his Heart.
Not So Invincible After All: He's completely immune to damage... at least until his heart and body are reunited.
The Pig-Pen: His castle is filthy and falling apart. Probably because he and his fellow Cubbas are too lazy to clean or repair damages.
Psychopathic Manchild: He's a big crybaby who the Boos would scare as an easy target, which is why he begged Bowser to make him invincible in the first place, and seems to normally be a Gentle Giant. However, he quickly took to using his new power to take his revenge on the Boos and shows a blithe kind of jolliness and even sadism while doing so, casually commenting on the flavor of Stanley after eating him and asking Bow to stick around after the fight so he can eat her in his Heart battle.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After being scared one too many times by the Boos, he sought revenge on them by pledging his allegiance to Bowser in order to have his heart removed and become invincible, and took advantage of his new Nigh-Invulnerability by committing mass genocide on the Boos by eating them all alive.
Spikes of Villainy: He has spikes on his shell, not unlike Bowser.
Split Personality: There seems to be three. The Heart, who has a rather sadistic personality, the empty shell of a body, with next to no personality, just hunger and rage, and the merged Tubba Blubba, who acts tough, but by his own admission, is a sensitive guy in a huge body.
Tactical Suicide Boss: The heart will insist on using his strongest attack every time, even though it takes a turn to charge and even after Mario keeps avoiding it every time. If he'd just stuck to his other attack, which doesn't take a turn to charge but still deals a lot of damage for that point, he'd likely be considerably tougher.
Throw the Dog a Bone: While Lady Bow is still completely unapologetic about tormenting Blubba in the first place, his rampage is enough to convince her and the other Boos to stop haunting him from now on. The Boos are even seen playfully carrying him during the ending curtain call, implying Defeat Equals Friendship.
Unstoppable Rage: Literally since he's invincible at this point, but practically the only emotion his empty shell shows is anger when he discovers Mario in his castle and promptly chases him.
Walking Spoiler: His heart is this. Specifically, his body became invincible after having his heart removed and granted sentience. After his body and heart reunite, he becomes vulnerable.
Zero-Effort Boss: Once he loses his invincibility, he's a joke. He only has ten Hit Points and no defense power, so he can be easily taken down in a single turn.

General Guy

"Prepare to fight me, sir! TASTE DEFEAT! CHARGE!!"

A white-cloaked Shy Guy and the leader of an army of bumbling Shy Guys, as well as the guardian of Muskular. While not much of a fighter himself, General Guy drives a large tank that delivers a powerful punch.

Badass Normal: All the bosses that guard a Star Spirit were either powered up thanks to Bowser, or already had access to magical powers or unique abilities. General Guy only has his army and Toy Tank, yet manages to put up a decent fight.
Defeat Equals Explosion: His tank does the exploding for him.
A Father to His Men: When he officially joins the fight. he angrily declares that no one gets away with embarrassing the brave Shy Guys in his army.
Flunky Boss: Summons his army during the fight.
Four-Star Badass: After his army is defeated, he charges into battle against Mario by himself. In a tank.
King Mook: Given that the entire fourth chapter is centered around Shy Guys, it's unsurprising that a Shy Guy is the chapter's boss.
Mad Bomber: His standard attack is to throw bombs at Mario.
Made of Iron: His tank has a Defense of 2, which is high for this game (especially this early since you don't even have access to the Ultra Boots and he's immune to Quake Hammer), and he's proud of that fact. Actually managing to damage him provokes an angry response, especially if you use Watt's defense-piercing attack.
Screams Like a Little Girl: Not the general himself, but the instant his army sees Mario, they flee in terror, indeed screaming loudly. It turns out, after defeating the general he runs away screaming along with the rest of the Shy Guys.
Sequential Boss: There are four phases to the General Guy boss fight. First, you get a Shy Guy mob, then two Stilt Guys, then two Shy Stacks, and finally you can attack the General and his tank directly.
Shock and Awe: His tank's lightbulb shoots bolts of electricity at you and can incapacitate your partner (except Watt) for a few turns. He'll claim you "broke the rules of war" if you respond by having Watt do this to him, since her attack pierces his tank's Defense.
Tank Goodness: Yes, really, he drives a freaking tank. And you have to fight it.

Lava Piranha

"WE MAKE THINGS HOT FOR YOU!"

The guardian of Misstar and a mutant Piranha Plant that is magically transformed into a multi-limbed, flaming monster. It lives in a raging volcano on an island of Yoshis.

Clipped-Wing Angel: When he revives himself set on fire, the second phase of the battle begins and he comes at you with even more power and a different, more powerful attack strategy and even more flunkies (his fiery Lava Buds spit out Petit Piranhas that bomb you). Unfortunately for him, he also comes with a new, crippling weakness to be curbstomped by Ice and Water moves, like the Ice Power badge (which you receive in the previous chapter), a Snowman Doll (Now On Sale at Yoshi's Cabana!), or Sushie's ultra move, Tidal Wave. Not only do they do extra damage, they stun him and his buds for two whole turns. And you can re-stun him the moment he recovers. It's entirely possible to beat his fiery form without letting him get off a single attack.
Cognizant Limbs: The Lava Buds act as this, appearing to share the same body despite having their own health counts.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: In line with the Lavalava Island adventure being an inversion of plot of Yoshi's Island, the Lava Piranha is nearly identical to the Naval Piranha, though it has an association with fire rather than water.
Curb-Stomp Battle: At one point in the battle, Kolorado attempts to attack him only to end up burned. The Lava Piranha doesn't even react to his presence.
Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Aside from Piranha Plants being native to Lavalava Island and being a type-inverted Expy of Naval Piranha, he's the only one of Bowser's head honchos in the game who's never alluded to or makes his presence known until directly fighting him. The most story-relevant thing he does, setting off the volcano, happens after his defeat.
Glass Cannon: He can do more damage than Huff N. Puff, but only has 40 HP and no defense power for each phase and his second phase can be stunned with ice and water attacks.
Hulk Speak: "YOU NO TAKE STAR."
Kill It with Water: During the second phase of the battle when he is on fire, Sushie's water attacks will put him and his Lava Buds out of commission for a few turns.
King Mook: A boss Piranha Plant, but more specifically towards the Putrid Piranhas who appear throughout Lavalava Island, which appear to act as monitors for him. The Putrid Piranhas of 64 resemble the big-headed Piranha Plants of Yoshi games rather than the distinctly colored poisonous Plants introduced in The Thousand-Year Door, fitting thematically with Lava Piranha being a counterpart to Yoshi's Island's Naval Piranha.
Load-Bearing Boss: After you defeat him and free Misstar, the volcano starts to erupt, so before the Chapter can officially end, you have to escape before you're swallowed by lava.
Not Quite Dead: When you beat the first phase, the ending jingle will roll, only to be interrupted by a resurging Lava Piranha.
Playing with Fire: It attacks by breathing fire.
Recurring Element: He's pretty much the Naval Piranha from Yoshi's Island, IN LAVA!
Sequential Boss: There are two phases with the Lava Piranha. First, you get it as normal, then after the fake "Battle End" theme, you fight the Piranha on fire.
Victory Fakeout: As mentioned above, after defeating his first phase, a fake victory fanfare plays before the second phase begins.
Volcano Lair: Mt. Lavalava, where he calls his home, is an active volcano.
You No Take Candle: The Lava Piranha is not a particularly eloquent speaker, but he gets his point across.

Huff N. Puff

"You asked for it... Now you'll witness the full power of my storm!"

A giant Ruff Puff that is terrorizing Flower Fields and the guardian of Klevar.

Arbitrary Headcount Limit: A rare case of this working for the player. Huff N. Puff can only have so many Tuff Puffs on the field at a time; if he takes enough attacks to exceed that limit, the extra Tuff Puffs will fall off the screen and remain out of the fight permanently.
Asteroids Monster: Attacking him causes him to break down into Tuff Puffs. Killing them quickly is a good idea since not only can they attack, if you don't kill them, Huff N. Puff will inhale them and heal off the damage; 1 HP for every small one and 2 HP for every big one.
Bad Boss: Two Lakitus serving him are terrified about what he will do to them if they fail him, having lost the Water Stone, which was needed to increase the power of his Puff Puff Machine.
Blow You Away: He can blow strong gusts of wind at Mario.
Cumulonemesis: He's an evil living cloud who fights with lightning and gusts of wind.
Defeat Equals Explosion: After his defeat, he dies in a Post-Defeat Explosion Chain before a large explosion breaks him apart into Tuff Puffs who are spread all over the land.
Faux Affably Evil: He speaks in a very polite and formal manner when confronted by Mario, but it's a very obvious veil for how angry he actually is with him, down to insulting Mario's intelligence.
Huff N. Puff: Are you a man named Mario? And did you or did you not break one Puff Puff Machine? What possessed you to do that? You completely ruined my plan to cover Flower Fields in clouds. You see, I was going to turn this sunlight-blasted place into a cloud-covered paradise. But I can't expect a man of your intellect to understand...
Flunky Boss: He has hench-clouds fight with him.
Gadgeteer Genius: He built the Puff Puff Machine to mass-produce clouds, after all.
Healing Factor: He's the first boss to heal, which means that unless you deal with his fodder it will take forever to beat him.
It's All About Me: He covers all of Flower Fields in clouds, causing the rest of its residents to suffer. Why? He likes cloudy weather and hates the sun.
It's Personal: Decides that he'd take down Mario even if Bowser didn't order him to, since the "cloud-destroying pest" ruined his plans.
King Mook: He's a giant Ruff Puff fought as a boss, and can summon the smaller clouds to fight with him as well.
Pet the Dog: Despite his mistreatment of Lakilester and Lakilulu, he's one of only two people who directly call Lakilester by his preferred name of Spike, even as Huff N. Puff realizes he's being betrayed by him.
Huff N. Puff: Is that you, Spike?! So! You have betrayed me! You will be punished. I was given this Star Spirit by King Bowser. I'll never give it up to the likes of you. You'll both pay dearly for your crimes!
Shock and Awe: Huff N. Puff can electrify the ground as well as use direct lightning strikes to attack Mario.
Shows Damage: He shrinks the more you damage him.
This Cannot Be!: After Mario defeats him, Huff N. Puff is in utter disbelief that he lost before exploding.
Turns Red: Averted and downplayed. Averted: You don't have to deplete his HP during the battle, but when you see him turn red with anger, it is a warning that he's charging up for his lightning attacks, which deal 12 or 10 HP worth of damage. Downplayed: When his HP is at 5 or lower, he and his Tuff Puffs will perform an earthquake attack together, dealing up to 25 HP worth of damage if all ten Tuff Puffs are out.
Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Unlike his fellow bosses, he's played for little-to-no comedy and is not just a minion who is simply acting as a guard for the Star Spirit. Flower Fields' Plant People (who rely on their Sun for energy) are implicitly dying due to his desire for "a cloud-covered paradise".
Visionary Villain: He believes he made Flower Fields into a paradise by covering it with clouds and is appalled that Mario thought to foil his plans, dismissing him as being too simple of mind to understand such a noble vision.

Crystal King

"First I shall defeat you, then I shall present Bowser with an iced Mario gift!"

The guardian of the seventh and final Star Spirit, Kalmar, and an invisible creature that is only seen due to the clothing he wears. Resides at a palace of ice and likes to make copies of himself when fighting.

Bad Boss: A few White Clubbas in the Crystal Palace express fear of angering him.
Blind Obedience: Aside from conquering the Crystal Palace, everything he does is in the name of Bowser, as he plans on presenting Mario's frozen corpse as a gift to Bowser, and in his final moments, he laments that he's failed Bowser.
Boss Remix: His battle theme is one of the Crystal Palace theme.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Compared to Huff N. Puff, who was a Visionary Villain that nearly destroyed Flower Fields and just merely happened to work for Bowser, the Crystal King is an obedient servant of Bowser who wants nothing more than to please him, and isn't shown causing any lasting damage to Shiver City.
Doppelgänger Attack: He has the ability to create illusory copies of himself to both trick the player or to make a giant blizzard.
Flunky Boss: He summons three Crystal Bits occasionally. He can spit them at you for damage or heal himself with them.
Human Popsicle: He threatens to freeze Mario and present him as a gift to Bowser.
An Ice Person: The Crystal King appears to be made of ice. He's fought at the end of an ice palace, and most of his attacks are ice-related.
Instant Ice: Just Add Cold!: One of his abilities is that he can freeze Mario for a few turns.
Invisible Monsters: His body is entirely invisible except for his eyes.
King Mook: Unlike the other bosses, he is an aversion, despite being one of the few to be an actual king. Unless one wants to count the Crystal Bits, he isn't based on any enemy in the game.
Mysterious Past: Especially when compared to the other bosses; he's the only boss to not be a part of a confirmed species, and even Goombario has no idea how he came to claim the Crystal Palace for himself.
Orcus on His Throne: Much like Tutankoopa, he's never shown causing any damage to Shiver City, instead patiently waiting for Mario in the Crystal Palace.
Plot Tailored to the Party: Averted. For the first time, this chapter has a boss that isn't unusually weak to a technique known by Mario's newest party member. By this point in the game, the player is expected to have learnt the ins and outs of every tool in their arsenal and developed a strategy that works against anything.
Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: To a greater extent than Huff N. Puff; he's arguably the most serious out of the seven bosses and makes the most outright threat on Mario's life.
Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: His eyes are entirely yellow, and they're the only parts of his body that is visible at all.

Bosses

The Master

Head of the Toad Town dojo, a seemingly frail old Toad who is far stronger than he looks.

Cool Old Guy: His students, Toad Town, and even Goomba Village^note revere him as this. And it's not an Informed Attribute; he proves to be an honorable and polite Handicapped Badass and Old Master who can practically go Super Saiyan.
Cosmetic Award: The awards he gives for beating him serve no in-game purpose. He doesn't give you any Star Points either. The only consolation is that you don't get a game over if you lose any of the fights against him or his students.
Golden Super Mode: He turns gold for his second and third battles. The third one adds a flaming aura.
Handicapped Badass: He states that "[his] health is rather delicate," which is evident from his frequent coughing. This does not hinder him at all.
I Am Not Left-Handed: In the first two fights, he's holding back on purpose. In the third and final battle, he uses his full potential.
Old Master: He may be an old man with a breathing problem, but he isn't called "The Master" for nothing.
Optional Boss: All of his fights are optional.
Recurring Element: His role is very similar to that of Jinx from Super Mario RPG, being the Superboss master of a dojo. He even has the same number of fights.
Rule of Three: Mario must fight him three times in order to truly surpass him.
Superboss: He has as much HP as Bowser (99) and much stronger attacks, making him even harder than Bowser.
Verbal Tic: He tends to cough while talking.

Buzzar

A large buzzard who lives on Mt. Rugged. He saw Mario on Bowser's "Wanted!" Poster, but when he encounters him, he isn't quite sure that it's him, so he asks him personally. Mario's answer determines whether or not he has to fight this large bird.

Ambiguous Gender: Buzzar is referred to with male pronouns for the most part, but if Tattled, Goombario will note that he was hatching eggs and speculate that he may actually be female.^note
Blow You Away: He can create wind by flapping his wings, which hurts both Mario and his partner.
Developer's Foresight: If Mario's electrified, Buzzar will replace his grab and drop attack with a high swoop that deals the same amount of damage to him.
Feather Flechettes: One of his attacks is to launch feathers at Mario.
A Lizard Named "Liz": He's just one "d" away from being A Dog Named "Dog".
Skippable Boss: While Buzzar is smart enough to know Mario is lying if he claims that he's Princess Peach, claiming that Mario is Luigi will result in Buzzar leaving him alone instead of fighting him. He will continue to confront Mario every time he crosses the bridge, but as long as the player keeps saying "Luigi," Mario will never have to fight him.

Anti Guy

A black Shy Guy who guards a treasure chest in Shy Guy's Toy Box. He doesn't look like much, but he's actually quite powerful.

Are You Sure You Want to Do That?: The one in the Toy Box asks this if you choose to fight him, even warning you "I'm pretty tough". Woe to the unprepared player who ignores his warning.
Dark Is Not Evil: Wears an ominous gray mask to go along with its black robe. His attacks according to Goombario's Tattle are "so intense that he's also called Deadly Guy". However, he has no beef with Mario, and only fights him if he's challenged. Give him his favorite food, and he'll happily hand over his treasure in return.
King Mook: A unique, powerful Shy Guy fought as a boss. He even has the exact same attacks as a normal Shy Guy, just much more powerful.
Lightning Bruiser: Anti Guy has much higher stats compared to other Shy Guys. He can take a beating with a whopping 50 HP and deals a ton of damage.
Optional Boss: Fighting him is completely optional. You can even get around fighting him for his Power Plus badge by simply giving him Lemon Candy, though you miss out on Star Points if you do this.
Palette Swap: He looks exactly like a regular Shy Guy, just with a black color scheme.
Say It with Hearts: Don't let his adorable hearts fool you, he's one of the toughest enemies in the game.
Trademark Favorite Food: He has a thing for Lemon Candy. Use this to avoid having to fight him for the chest he's guarding.
Wolfpack Boss: Failing the second Bowser door's quiz results in a boss fight with three Anti Guys.

Big Lantern Ghost

"I hate the light... So... I'll take you with me... ...to the deep dark..."

A boss fought in Shy Guy's Toy Box. He trapped Watt inside his lantern; defeating the Big Lantern Ghost allows Mario to free her.

Bedsheet Ghost: Like the rest of his species, he more closely resembles a creature with a green sheet over his head than an actual ghost.
Carrying the Weakness: His main weakness is to light, and he conveniently carries a lantern that can be attacked to brighten the room and make him vulnerable to attack.
Dark Is Evil: He hangs out in the dark, and kidnapped a baby to use it as his own personal tool.
Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: The Big Lantern Ghost has little-to-no foreshadowing, has no known connection to the Shy Guys, disappears without a trace after being defeated, and largely serves as an excuse to introduce Watt into the party.
King Mook: He's a unique and powered-up version of the Lantern Ghosts, an enemy introduced in Yoshi's Island, though the mooks themselves make no appearance in this game.
Pointless Band-Aid: He wears an X-shaped one on his forehead.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: He runs away when defeated.
Weakened by the Light: He hates bright light. Attacking the lantern is necessary to make the room brighter; if the Big Lantern Ghost is shrouded in darkness, he can't be targeted.

Kent C. Koopa

"Good doing business with you! Oh, the jingle of coins is so very beautiful."

A large Koopa Troopa who, after Chapter 5's completion, shows up on Pleasant Path and starts demanding 100-coin tolls from anyone who wishes to pass.

Affably Evil: He acts quite polite, even when demanding tolls from anyone and swindling coins from them. He's also a Graceful Loser after you beat him.
Are You Sure You Want to Do That?: Like the Anti Guy, he warns Mario that he's extremely tough if the plumber chooses to challenge him. Too bad he forgot about his major weakness to sleep.
Attack Its Weak Point: The best offensive strategy is to flip him over and attack his tail.
Combat Pragmatist: He starts off by using an attack that stuns party members for three turns. After that, he starts hitting Mario with a stronger attack.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He looks and sounds pretty docile and the glasses-themed pun of his name makes him seem a little pitiable, but he's a greedy swindler trying to harass others into paying him just to get by without fighting him.
Graceful Loser: He's shocked but otherwise pretty humble if Mario defeats him, though he does run away crying afterwards.
Greed: He charges 100 coins for every trip between Toad Town and Koopa Village. The only other option is to fight him.
Hear Me the Money: His favorite sound is the jingling of coins.
King Mook: He's a large, unique and powerful Koopa Troopa fought as a minor boss.
Lone Wolf Boss: He doesn't seem to have any affiliation with Bowser.
The Mentor: It's implied by Russ T. that he's the one who taught the Koopa Bros. how to fight.
Optional Boss: Fighting him is entirely optional. There is no need to pay his toll either, since Koopa Village can be easily accessed via Toad Town Tunnels by that point. Kolorado will eventually realize this and use said pipe to reach Koopa Village if you have it unlocked.
Punny Name: His name is a play on "can't see".
Species Surname: Koopa.
Sturdy and Steady Turtles: He has high HP and his attacks are strong, but his defining trait is how hard it is to hurt him. He has the highest defense in the game, to the point where Mario's normal attacks can't damage him without the aid of badges unless he's knocked over. Unlike other Koopas, his defense isn't reduced to zero when he's knocked on his shell, unless you attack his tail. To top it all off, he gets back up the turn after he's knocked over and can attack right away.
Tempting Fate: He warns Mario he's very strong if Mario chooses to fight him. Kent C. can easily be put to sleep for four turns and can be put right back to sleep when he wakes up.
Toxic Friend Influence: He apparently taught the Koopa Bros how to fight when they all lived in Koopa Village.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After being defeated he runs away with tears in his eyes.
Weaksauce Weakness: The guy is tough, but putting him to sleep is surprisingly effective. Sleep inducing attacks like Lullaby almost always work and when they do, he will be unable to do anything for a whopping 4 turns. And there is nothing stopping you from putting him to sleep again when he wakes up.

Monstar

"Tuuuuurn back. Coooome no farther. Tuuuurn away, or I'll eat you!"

A monster encountered in Shiver Snowfield. It looks powerful, but it's actually a complete joke. Turns out Monstar is just a bunch of Star Kids in disguise who were trying to scare off intruders and didn't know that Mario was a good guy.

Fake Special Attack: Its only attack resembles Star Storm, but with more flashy effects. It does 1 damage.
No-Sell: Since it's made of stars, star-based attacks, such as Skolar's Star Storm and the Shooting Star, have no effect on it. It’s so weak anyway that you won’t need those to beat it, though.
Scarecrow Solution: The Star Kids wanted to keep potential threats out of Starborn Valley, so they pretended to be a monster to scare them away.
Unmoving Plaid: When Monstar is fought with a real cartridge on a real N64, its body is covered in glowing stars that stay in the same positions on its body, no matter how it moves. However, this effect does not emulate properly, even on Nintendo's official Virtual Console emulator, surrounding Monstar in the cloud of glitter you see to the right.
Zero-Effort Boss: Monstar is weak enough to be a Chapter 1 boss; it certainly isn't powerful enough to be threatening in Chapter 7. Even more so if the Defend Plus badge is equipped, in which case Monstar cannot damage Mario at all.

Other Characters

The Star Spirits

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/star_spirits.png

L-to-R, T-to-B: Eldstar, Mamar, Skolar, Muskular, Misstar, Klevar, and Kalmar.

"In order to take the Star Rod back from Bowser... and save Princess Peach... we need your help..."

The Star Spirits made their debut in Paper Mario. They first were held captive by Bowser's followers after Bowser and Kammy stole the Star Rod and turned them into cards. They return in Mario Party 5 as the guardians of the Dream Depot.

Actual Pacifist: Kalmar has a strong disdain for fighting and arguments, and as such, never attempts to cause any harm, unlike Skolar with Star Storm. Even his signature move, Up & Away, while it forcefully transforms enemies, it transforms them into tranquil stars that he peacefully sends up to Star Haven.
Always Accurate Attack: Skolar's Star Storm can't miss enemies at all.
Armor-Piercing Attack: Skolar's ability, Star Storm, deals 7 points of damage regardless of defense.
Art Shift: They appear as hosts in Mario Party 5, being among the few "paper" characters to reappear in a 3D style.
Benevolent Genie: They're revered, Reality Warping wish-granters who use their power to ensure the happiness of people around the world by helping their wishes come true. They refuse to use their magic on wishes with selfish intent, leading Bowser to take their magic by force.
Mamar: For as long as we can remember, Bowser has been making wishes like, for instance... "I'd like to trounce Mario" or "I want Princess Peach to like me". Of course, Stars ignore such selfish wishes. As a result, his wishes were never granted.
Bookworm: Klevar, who always reads books and carries a book under one arm.
Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Their strength is derived from the wishes of people across the Mushroom Kingdom. Unlike most examples, they still have some power even if no one is actively making those wishes — direct requests supercharge them, though, so the more wishing the better.
Color-Coded Characters: The Star Spirits all have differing hues to them that help them stand out from one another. Eldstar is orange, Mamar is red, Skolar is purple, Muskular is blue, Misstar is pink, Klevar is yellow, and Kalmar is green.
Forced Transformation: Kalmar's ability, Up & Away, turns enemies into stars that fly... well, up and away.
Full Set Bonus: Freeing all seven not only allows them to bestow their individual powers on Mario, but to work in tandem to De-power Bowser and the Star Rod.
Healing Magic Is the Hardest: Misstar's Smooch heals 20 HP, but costs the most SP (3).
Herd-Hitting Attack: Star Storm does 7 damage to all enemies.
Intimate Healing: Misstar's ability, Smooch, restores 20 HP.
The Leader: Eldstar appears to chair their meetings, so to speak.
Lovable Jock: Muskular evokes the appearance of a buff sailor and has a name pertaining to muscles, but he's a genuinely friendly guy who does his best to be a good role model when Twink gets the chance to meet him.
Magical Floating Shawl: Each of the Seven Star Spirits qualifies as a Physical God, but Misstar wears a hagoromo to show off her divine beauty and sensuality.
Meaningful Name: Their names all directly relate to their personalities and abilities.
No Mouth: They lack visible mouths in their official artwork and in Mario Party 5◊.
Opaque Nerd Glasses: Skolar wears large, shiny, light-blue glasses that obscure his eyes.
Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Misstar is bright pink and Muskular bright blue.
Pink Means Feminine: Mamar wears a pink bow, and Misstar's entire body is pink.
Reality Warper: Essentially their job — to use the Star Rod to grant approved wishes. Even without it, Klevar can invoke Time Stands Still and Kalmar Forced Transformation on enemies.
Rule of Seven: They are the second group of seven Star Shaped Coupons to appear in a Mario RPG, the first being the seven Star Pieces from Super Mario RPG.
Silent Treatment: As Mamar notes, stars ignore people who make selfish wishes, and Bowser got very angry about being snubbed one time too many...
The Smart Guy: Skolar and Klevar are this. The former always studies while the latter reads books.
Smooch of Victory: Misstar kisses you to restore a good 20 HP.
Star Power: Unsurprisingly, much of their power revolves around stars.
Star-Shaped Coupon: Mario has to rescue all of them in order to counter the Star Rod.
Status-Buff Dispel: Star Beam can be used to remove all buffs on enemies (including Invisible, which makes it impossible to hit the enemy otherwise).
Status Effects: Mamar can put enemies to sleep with Lullaby, and Klevar can stop enemies in place with Time Out, which stops them for an additional turn than a Stop Watch.
Summon Magic: Once rescued, they can be called into battle to assist Mario with their special moves.
Sword of Plot Advancement: Star Beam, which is acquired by rescuing every Star Spirit. It's the only thing that can dispel Bowser's Star Rod-induced invincibility.
Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Eldstar, Skolar and Kalmar each have a mustache, while Mamar and Misstar both have lipstick and ribbons.
Theme Naming: All of them have Punny Names involving the word "star." Four of them actually have inverted Family Theme Naming (as in, the theme naming implies they're a family) — Mamar's, Muskular's, Misstar's, and Kalmar's Japanese names are Maaru (from "Mama"), Niiru (from "ani", Japanese for "older brother"), Neeru (from "ane", or "older sister"), and Daaru (from "Dad").
Time Stands Still: Implied by Klevar's ability, Time Out, which immobilizes enemies.
Two Girls to a Team: Out of the seven Star Spirits, only Mamar and Misstar are female.
What the Hell, Hero?: Misstar rips into Kolorado for prioritizing the volcano's treasure over his life during an eruption.
The Worf Barrage: The Star Beam is said to be the one thing that can dispel the invincibility granted to Bowser by the Star Rod. It works, the first time you use it. The second time, it's useless and needs to be upgraded to the Peach Beam.
Worf Had the Flu: They're the strongest Stars in the whole game with access to incredible magic; Twink implies that a fully energized Star Spirit could do something like take the Star Rod back from Bowser or teleport Princess Peach with ease. However, Bowser turning them into playing cards seals off their power, and even after being rescued, they need time to recover it, meaning that they can't access the full extent of their abilities. It's given a Hand Wave by Eldstar after rescuing him, as remarks that he (and presumably the other Star Spirits) can only recover their energy "little by little" instead of all at once.

Twink

"...Oh... I'm sorry. I can't grant that wish either, I'm afraid. Actually, I just got called up to the sky a day ago, so I can't do big wishes yet..."

A tiny star who's only just ascended to Star Haven. When Peach wishes for Mario's safety, he comes down to help her, and becomes her "partner" for the rest of the game.

The Baby of the Bunch: Twink is this among all the Stars seen in Star Haven since he's so young, and as a result, he's not initially very skilled at granting wishes — you meet other Star Kids who appear identical to Twink in Starborn Valley during Chapter 7, and sure enough, once you arrive in Star Haven, the Stars there are all quite a bit bigger and visibly older despite still being small and adorable. This is kicked up to eleven when he joins the Star Spirits to perform Peach Beam, who are essentially honored as deities among Star-kind.
But Now I Must Go: At the end of the game, he bids farewell to Peach and told her that he's going to make people's wishes come true.
Have a Gay Old Time: His name is "Twink", as in "twinkle". Nowadays, however, the word is more commonly known as a slang term for young or young-looking gay men.
He Knows About Timed Hits: Twink delivers the Lucky Star from Princess Peach that allows Mario to use Action Commands and uses the Magikoopa that tailed him for Mario's Forced Tutorial. In later games, Mario's Action Commands are available to him automatically.
Hero Worship: He really holds the 'honorable Star Spirits' on a pedestal, and he's absolutely ecstatic and flustered when he not only arrives in time to meet Muskular and to hear the Star Spirit knows his name.
Just a Kid: There's traces of this in his arc - he's initially introduced seeming to believe it himself, putting himself down for not being able to do more as a newly ascended star and being timid and modest towards the Star Spirits, he's swatted away effortlessly the moment Bowser actually takes notice of him when he tries to save Peach himself in her final interlude, and Kammy Koopa taunts him with this directly when he picks a fight with her to help Peach. However, he manages to knock her out with Peach's belief in him, and his arrival ends up proving to be the spanner in the works that Mario and the Star Spirits themselves needed to overcome Bowser and take back the Star Rod, proving he really is a capable Star.
Kammy: You little whippersnapper... You're too young to fight me!
Twink: I... I... I'm not afraid of you!!
Kid Hero: Twink is a young Star who's not experienced at granting wishes and can't yet harness his potential Reality Warper abilities, but he's the one who comes flying to Peach's wishes and does everything he can to help her and Mario, even when he's not very sure of himself, and his bravery ends up being what saves the world both by letting Mario know where to go and adding Peach and the kingdom's wishes into the Star Beam to nullify Bowser's invincibility. He goes as far as to try and fight Bowser on his own at one point, all while likely being even younger than Goombario.
Goombario: There he goes... back to Bowser's castle. What a brave little guy...
Precocious Crush: It's implied that he has one on Princess Peach. At the end of the game it appears that he's going to tell her, but ultimately decides not to.
Speaking Simlish: While everyone else in the game has some form of Simlish-speak, Star Kids like Twink have a unique one, which is unusual because it sounds like jingly bells.
Status Buff: Peach's wishes during the climax allow him to gain progressively greater power; when he joins the seven Star Spirits, he upgrades the Star Beam to the Peach Beam.
Took a Level in Badass: Twink starts off so weak that he can't do any damage at all to Kammy Koopa, but after continuous Status Buffs from Peach's sustained and repeated wishes he becomes immune to Kammy's magic. He later joins the Star Spirits to upgrade the Star Beam to the Peach Beam, which can take down Bowser's enhanced magical defenses.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: None of the Koopa Troop ever seem to notice Twink until he starts up and flying right in Bowser's face. But then, given everything else... he's noticed and tailed by exactly one (1) Magikoopa, who is promptly defeated in a tutorial sequence for Action Commands, and apparently never reports this to Bowser or Kammy Koopa.

Goombario's Family

L-to-R, T-to-B: Goompa, Gooma, Goomama, Goompapa, and Goombaria.

A kindly family of Goombas who find Mario after his fall from Peach's Castle, who populate the quaint Goomba Village west of Toad Town. Little Goombaria is the one who discovers Mario, while old Goompa gives Mario his first hammer and Badge while showing some of the game's ropes, before recommending his grandson accompany his hero on the journey.

Bumbling Dad: Implied, at least. Goombario loves his old man, but he says while tattling Goompapa that he "doesn't look" as reliable as he is, and only when he saw him working to repair things after the earthquake Bowser's Castle caused did he know he was cool.
Guest-Star Party Member: Goompa briefly accompanies Mario like a partner as the two make their way back to Goomba Village after falling from the veranda, though he doesn't do anything in-battle, and his overworld action is simply to move behind Mario.
Good Parents: Goomama and Goompapa are friendly with their children and support and believe in Goombario all the way, and while he might show a little embarrassment with both of them, he makes it clear to his hero that he loves both of them a lot.
The Mentor: Goompa explains some of the combat and Badge mechanics to Mario, effectively acting as a tutorial character. This isn't without reason, as both he and Gooma are implied to have taught The Master and Tayce T. a lot of what they know about fighting and cooking respectively.
Miniature Senior Citizens: Gooma and Goompa are this by default of being, well... elderly and also Goombas. At least, elderly regularly-sized Goombas.
Retired Badass: Goompa's knowledge of fighting and Badges didn't come from nowhere, as according to Russ T., he not only sparred with but even trained The Master who runs Toad Town's dojo, the same one who acts as a Superboss to Mario even at an older age. He ventured with Koopa Koot and Bootler and is the only one whose battle prowess is explicitly mentioned.
Smooch of Victory: Goombaria's idea of a reward to Mario for returning her Dolly is this (along with a Star Piece), which just makes him shudder.
Supreme Chef: Downplayed with Goomama, who's mentioned to be a great cook by Goombario, and he uses the fact even she could learn a thing or two from Tayce T. as an example of just how great the latter is. On another level, Gooma is implied to have taught Tayce T. about cooking.
Token Heroic Orc: Downplayed, as while friendly Goombas and other typically antagonistic creatures are no rarity in the Mario RPGs, the Goomba family are one of the few times this status is addressed: the Toad running the resident Toad House informs Mario that they're all very friendly, and the paths outside Goomba Village have many Goombas working for Bowser who Goompa warns the hero about. Their placement in the game acts as a gentle introduction to this concept in the series, with their presence quickly establishing that not all Goombas and other "enemy" races are working for Bowser, and that many will actually be a great help to Mario on his quest.

Merlon

"Where to begin...? My name...is Merlon. I am a wizard. When I was reading the stars the other day, an oracle came to me. What I discovered is very important, and it concerns you."

An old wizard Shaman living in the house with a spinning roof in Toad Town. He helps Mario along the journey at points, and can also tell Mario's fortune to guide him on what to do next for coins.

Fortune Teller: Merlon's primary job and the service he offers to Mario for coins, using his crystal ball to see and give guidance on what the hero should do next in his journey to advance the plot - he does it once for free during Chapter 1, when he tells you that a Star Spirit is held in Koopa Bros' Fortress. Interestingly, this is a job performed by Merluvlee in later games - Merlon is always said to have some kind of divination, but only this Merlon emphasizes the quality and actively uses it to aid Mario.
Grumpy Old Man: Unlike his later counterparts who are only really eccentric, Goombario actually describes him as a stubborn old man. He is stern with the Koopa Bros and is quite reserved in responding to things like a letter from his granddaughter Merlee, but he's at the worst a fairly even-tempered chap to Mario.
Recurring Character: Merlon starts an ongoing trend in the Paper series of identically named magic characters showing up, though it's heavily implied starting in the sequel that all of them are separate individuals named similarly due to the jobs they do.
Shock and Awe: He uses magic that appears as bolts of lightning to dismiss the Koopa Bros' Toad disguises. It's not that clear if it's a genuine lightning attack or just appears as one, but it appears to be the only offensive magic seen from a Merlon in the series.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: He lightly acknowledges that Toad Town seems busier if spoken to outside of his house during Chapter 4, but he doesn't appear to realize that Shy Guys are running around harassing and robbing people.
Wizard Beard: Oh, but not a beard - a Wizard Mustache! Merlon's grand white 'stache conveys the same energy as a traditional old wizard's beard, and each game's Merlon has a longer one; however, Paper Mario's Merlon has what's likely the most styled one, with not a stray hair to be seen.

Tayce T.

"You may not know this, but I cooked all the food for this big party. I made all of my most delicious dishes!♡ But... Oh dear... I got so into my cooking that I used up all my ingredients!"

Toad Town's legendary chef, this sweet Toad was one of many guests invited to Peach's Castle who thankfully made an escape. Her cooking is almost unrivalled, and she'll bake anything Mario brings to her with (usually) great results.

Ambiguously Related: While it's known that her and The Master are brother and sister, it's also implied that the similar-looking Zess T. from The Thousand-Year Door is their sister who stayed in Rogueport when Tayce moved to Toad Town.
Sibling Yin-Yang: It's treated as quite the shocking information when a Toad found nearby reveals this sweet and mellow chef is actually sister and former housemate of Toad Town's strict and formidable dojo master. It's even more evident with her implied sister Zess T. from Rogueport, who's a master chef providing the same service that looks just like her with the total opposite temperament and demeanor.
Sweet Baker: Tayce T. is a kindly Toad, and she'll happily bake any of her delicious meals for Mario free of charge so long as he supplies the ingredients.
Supreme Chef: Her cooking skills are the stuff of legend, to the point her signature cake sends Gourmet Guy rocketing all the way to Peach's Castle. She was invited to cook for Peach for a reason, and many already-good chefs like Goomama admit to wanting to learn from her — and it's implied Gooma taught her!
Through His Stomach: She explains that her Couple's Cake was the recipe that won over her beloved but departed husband, which is why she swore off cooking it again until Mario helped her out.

Chuck Quizmo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_7189.png

"Kaaaa-wiiiizzz! It's everyone's favorite quizmaster, Chuck Quizmo!"

A eccentric quizmaster worm outfitted in a top hat and bowtie, who offers Mario Star Pieces in exchange for getting his quiz questions correct.

Breakout Character: Despite not appearing in any games after this one, he leaves a very strong lasting impact on the series going forward, with Quiz Thwomp, the InterNed, Snifit, and even MC Ballyhoo being Expies of him, with Ballyhoo in particular being directly designed after Chuck Quizmo. He even gets a mention in the very last email from The Thousand-Year Door, albeit only in the Japanese version.
Game Show Host: He runs his own quiz show consisting of three multiple-choice answers per question.
Large Ham: Fitting for a quizmaster, Chuck has an extremely bombastic personality, even introducing himself in grandiose fashion.
Lovely Assistant: Vanna T. serves as this to him, with a chipper personality, hearts adorned across her cap, and Goombario pointing out that she looks lovely. Becomes inverted when Vanna says in her letter to Mario that she's in the works of producing her very own show.
Named After Somebody Famous: Chuck himself is named after former Wheel of Fortune host Chuck Woolery, while his assistant, Vanna T., is named after Vanna White.
Reality Warper: Chuck seemingly can control the laws of physics, as he produces the set of his show out of thin air, and leaves by curling himself inside-out inside of his hat.

Koopa Koot

"Oh!!! How very kind of you! I guess the younger generation isn't so bad after all."

The elder of Koopa Village, who constantly asks for favours and is reputed as "a pretty self-centered old Koopa". He gives good rewards, some of the time.

Dirty Old Man: Two of his earlier quests involve retrieving a magazine and "The Tape" from Kolorado and Goompa respectively, both of which are not-so-subtly implied to be explicit or for similar purposes.
Dude, Where's My Reward?: He'll certainly leave you wondering this 63% of the time. The sum of his rewards does come to result in about one Star Piece per trouble and he's where you'll get the Silver and Gold Credits for the Toad Town Playroom, but Koopa Koot manages to distribute this out in such a way that more than half of the time, he'll only give you one coin.
Grumpy Old Man: Downplayed as he's ordinarily friendly enough despite his cheap ways, but he voices a disbelief towards the younger generation multiple times, and rants and pokes Mario with his cane should you turn down the chance to do his quests.
Hated by All: In a sense. A lot of the characters in the game that personally know Koopa Koot have nothing but bad things to say about him. A few of them even warn Mario that he constantly takes advantage of people and pays them next to nothing in return. Goompa in particular receives a letter from Koopa Koot, but doesn't want to read it and opts to put it away saying he will get to it later (meaning never).
- Even Bowser seems to be aware of the old man's reputation, if some of his dialogue options are anything to go by in The Thousand-Year Door.
  Bowser: I'm the great Koopa Koot, mess with me and I'll bore you to death! (or something along those lines)
Hidden Depths: He comes off as an absolutely cheap old bum of a Koopa on the surface, but according to a worldly Toad in Toad Town's port, he saved Wise Wisterwood when he ventured to Petal Meadows in his youth. Apparently he adventured alongside Goompa and Bootler, and this Toad even says he had an influence on Kolorado, which doesn't sound unlike how Kolorado inspires Kooper today.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he's a known user of others and a real coot as his name suggests, Koopa Koot does in the end pay out a pretty fair selection of rewards if you go to the trouble of helping him with all his favours. In addition, his last request is simply that Mario stop Bowser and save the world.
Opportunistic Bastard: According to Franky the Boo, his motto is "If it moves, use it until it drops.", and you can certainly believe it. He's known to ask anyone he can to help in his favours with piddly payment for the trouble - he's apparently so bad for this that Franky implies his adventuring career was a result of the trouble he got himself into, and this was when he was young!
Pet the Dog: In a game that really doesn't give the green bean a lot of respect, it might surprise you that Koopa Koot of all people would ask for Luigi's autograph, and he showers the younger brother's abilities with praise to Mario, even being the first person in the series to call him "the great Luigi".
Koopa Koot: That young fella is truly super! Have you seen him jump? They should call him "Air Luigi"!
Quest Giver: His main role is this, with a total of 19 favours to complete which are updated after most Chapters that'll send the heroes around the world for often less-than-stellar results.

Professor Kolorado

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pm_kolorado.png

"By the Stars, I'll risk my life for that treasure!!"

An adventurer, explorer, and archaeologist. He's Kooper's role model and spends much of his time looking for some new artifacts.

Adventurer Archaeologist: Described by Goombario to be a professor of archaeology as well as an explorer. That and the name may remind you of someone.
Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: Hey, at least he tries to do some damage to Lava Piranha...
Benevolent Boss: After he recruits Kooper as part of his expedition team during the ending, Kooper receives a letter from Princess Peach inviting him to a party at her castle. Kooper debates whether to go to the party or continue his work, but Kolorado forces him to go to the party, acknowledging that he's one of the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom and deserves to properly celebrate his victory.
Butt-Monkey: He's constantly injured during his expedition into Mt. Lavalava. First he falls in lava, then the falls down a chasm, gets rolled over by a spiky boulder, gets hurt by Lava Piranha (after trying to attack it), and finally he burns himself in lava again when the volcano is about to erupt. Even before entering the volcano he gets attacked by Jungle Fuzzies, Spear Guys, and even Mario.
Disappeared Dad: In The Thousand-Year Door, you find his father's bones in Hooktail Castle.
Dub Name Change: Kolorado's name in the original Japanese version is simply Charles.
Happily Married: While he and his wife don't share any scenes together, it's implied that Kolorado loves his wife dearly. In fact, when he receives a message from her in the Epilogue telling him not to come home, his first response is to abandon his current expedition so that he can save his marriage.
Lack of Empathy: When the Yoshi children go missing, he complains that their parents are now too distracted to provide him with any information pertaining to treasure before suggesting that someone else do something to remedy the situation as he just loafs around and makes no attempt at all to assist the Yoshis.
Leeroy Jenkins: He attempts to perform a Zerg Rush on the Lava Piranha, but he ends up charging headlong into its lava pit instead, causing him to get burned and run off.
The Load: He doesn't help Mario in any way during the fifth chapter despite being one of the more prominent characters of the said chapter.
Lovable Coward: It's really hard to get mad at the guy; he can't hold his own at all, but he's a legitimately nice guy who loves adventure and really tries to help out.
Redundant Researcher: Mario beats him to the punch at uncovering and exploring both the Dry Dry Ruins and Crystal Palace simply because he's searching for the Star Spirits, and so poor Kolorado is always left a couple of steps behind the plumber in exploration (and when he's not, he's probably scalding his butt recklessly charging into danger), and it's the party who give him the artifacts he was looking for. That being said, he did go through Mt. Lavalava for its treasure legitimately and he's a professor and archaeologist by profession, so he really is a competent if bumbling explorer who just isn't quite on par with Mario, and his goals certainly aren't made redundant.
Sixth Ranger: While he never joins Mario's party, he accompanies Mario and his partners for much of Chapter 5 as he's searching for treasure in the same volcano a Star Spirit is in.
Too Dumb to Live: At one point, he accidentally jumps down an entire chasm at the thought of treasure. Also running straight at Lava Piranha, a monster covered in thorns and fire, probably wasn't his smartest move. Misstar is not happy he nearly died because he went back to try and retrieve the treasure he was looking for.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Unless the player fights Jr. Troopa early in Chapter 5, Kolorado curiously watches him swim to Lavalava Island to challenge Mario as they depart on the whale. Once they reach Toad Town, Kolorado says nothing of this strange situation and leaves immediately before Jr. Troopa catches up.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: When he's being attacked by enemies, it's possible to attack him instead. Kolorado calls Mario out and accuses him of doing so out of jealousy.

Gourmet Guy

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/04b50f34_cb42_4bc1_9858_6733ed84a502.png

"I can only eat food of the highest quality, or I might gag. I'd rather starve than eat such inferior food as this!"

A morbidly obese Shy Guy who loves sweets, and is willing to assist Mario and Peach if they feed him cake.

Affably Evil: Despite working for Bowser, he promises not to rat Peach out if she gives him one of her signature cakes. He ultimately sticks to his promise.
Entitled Bastard: He won't take anything that's not high-quality cake, saying he'd rather starve than eat peasant palates.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Gourmet Guy is his nickname, and he's not sure why people call him that, but it's the only name we know him by.
Fat Bastard: He's an obese Shy Guy who's working for Bowser and is incredibly picky. He's A Lighter Shade of Black, however, as he's willing to barter with Mario and Peach.
Giant Mook: He's a really, really, really fat Shy Guy. Unlike most Shy Guys, however, Mario doesn't fight him.
I Ate WHAT?!: If Mario tries feeding him a non edible item such as a Sleepy Sheep, he'll spit it out and complain that it tasted bad and wasn't even food.
Large Ham: When he eats cake, he drops his eating utensils and celebrates its taste in a loony fashion.
Obsessed with Food: Most of his dialogue consists of him lusting for gourmet dishes, cake in particular.
Trademark Favorite Food: Sweet cake with frosting and cookie crumbles.

Lakilulu

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8fb8525f_9c62_4790_8546_cb83d4607201.png

"Mario, please forgive him! My Lakilester was just following Huff N. Puff's orders!"

A faithful minion of Huff N. Puff, and Lakilester's girlfriend who refuses to let him get hurt.

Anti-Villain: She's loyal to Huff N. Puff and was willing to assist his plan to cover Flower Fields in clouds, but she's more loyal to Lakilester at the end of the day and doesn't show animosity towards Mario.
But Thou Must!: She refuses to take no for an answer when asking Mario to spare Lakilester.
Embarrassing First Name: She calls Lakilester by his real name, and no matter how many times he insists to be called Spike, she never obliges with his request.
Fiery Redhead: Complementing her red hair, she's very temperamental and almost never loses an argument.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The spunky, overly-protective red to Lakilester's self-pitying, unconfident blue.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Despite Lakilester believing the opposite, Lakilulu loves him for his heroic demeanor and nobility, despite how weak he is.
Villainy-Free Villain: She seems to be only indirectly involved with Huff N. Puff and Bowser's schemes, mainly just by being Lakilester's girlfriend.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: She's so devoted to Lakilester, that if Mario refuses to forgive him, Lakilulu will bash him in the face with a Spiny Egg. She threatens to do the same to Lakilester if he does anything too dangerous.

Mayor Penguin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/18596be7_1ee9_4205_bf90_1d7a08df2aa4.png

"I have the best intentions, but for some reason I always end up causing a ruckus."

A Bumpty who's the mayor of Shiver City. He holds the secret to entering the Crystal Palace, but things go awry when he's suspected of being murdered.

Clueless Mystery: After he's seemingly killed, the plot becomes a whodunit looking to find the culprit behind his murder.
Early-Bird Cameo: He's one of the attendees at Peach's party in the beginning of the game, one prologue and six chapters before he becomes relevant to the plot.
The Jinx: Even before Mario's accused of murdering him, Mayor Penguin states that he's always had a history of bringing trouble to others, even though he never intends to. The penguin policeman, while happy that the mayor is okay, exasperatedly implores him to try and be more careful as the citizens were quite panicked when they believed him to be dead.
Mayor Pain: Of the Quimby variety, albeit downplayed. He constantly brings harm to others by complete accident, although it tends to occur less due to his position of power going to his head and more because he's Born Unlucky.
Mistaken for Dying: He's knocked into a coma due to slipping and falling, causing his wife to assume he's dead without even checking his pulse, prompting direct detective investigation.
Nice Guy: He's best friends with Herringway, knows he wouldn't have it in himself to kill anyone, and planned on getting him a gift. In addition, when asked by Mario to tell him how to get into the Crystal Palace, Mayor Penguin obliges without hesitation.
Pathetically Weak: A very slight slip onto the floor was enough to knock him into a coma.
Sleepyhead: Being knocked out from falling puts him in a deep sleep, and his wife assumed him to be sleeping, hinting at it being a common occurrence.

Chet Rippo

An enigmatic person in Toad Town who boosts Mario's stats... for a price, and not just in money.

Cartoon Creature: His species isn't clear. He has a duck bill, and an antennae on his head, blue skin, and the area around his eyes are red. Doesn't really narrow it down. It does look like it could be some kind of Goofy Suit, which would certainly make sense if he were a Shaman like his TTYD counterpart.
Dub Name Change: A notable example in that his name change recontextualizes him a little: in Japan, this fellow is known as Rebēra, essentially 'Level' (as-in, he changes Mario's stat levels) mixed with the naming convention of Merlon's family. This combined with his magic and the design of his counterpart in the sequel implies he could be another of the wizard family, though thanks to his odd design, his lack of an indicative name renders this possibility Lost in Translation. In English, French, and German, his name focuses on his duplicitous side instead and pairs with the originally unrelated Rip Cheato's name. His Chinese and Italian names actually maintain the level theme of his original moniker, though the potential connection to the Shamans is still lost.^note
Honest John's Dealership: He advertises stat boosting, but doesn't mention lowering the other two stats or removing badges you equipped.
Pet the Dog: Says the price of his services is normally 390 coins but will charge Mario 39 coins. Of course, given his record for honesty, he could just be giving a fake higher price so the real price will be more appealing to his customers.
Status Buff: He raises Mario's HP, FP, or BP, by two levels while lowering the other stats by one level and removing equipped badges.

Rip Cheato

A salesman running his shop in Toad Town Tunnels.

Honest John's Dealership: Offers his merchandise without telling Mario/the player what it is until they purchase. Everything after his 10th item will be a Dried Shroom, which he doesn't mention.
Meaningful Name: Rip Cheato is a pun of "rip off" and "cheat" considering he doesn't tell you the item he's selling until you buy. Unlike Chet Rippo, his name was still themed around this quality in Japan — it's an elongation of 'bottakūru', meaning "rip-off".
Mythology Gag: Every item he sells is priced at 64 coins.
Secret Shop: He set his shop up in the sewers, with the entrance behind a locked door from the inside. One has to wonder how much business he was expecting to get.

Characters / Paper Mario 64

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