Bowser has stolen the Star Rod which makes all his wishes come true. He lifts Peach's castle into the sky on top of his own fortress and makes himself invincible, beating Mario and sending him tumbling to the ground.
Mario is helped by a Goomba family and he is joined by Goombario on his quest to find the seven Star Spirits and use their power to stop Bowser from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.
Mario is also joined by other characters, each with their own abilities that let Mario access new regions and help him out in the turn-based battles. Mario can use weapons, items and badges to improve his stats as he takes on stronger and stronger opponents.
Release Information
Region
Name
Release
マリオストーリーMario Story
11 Aug 2000
Paper Mario
05 Feb 2001
Paper Mario
05 Oct 2001
Re-releases
System
Wii Virtual Console
10 Jul 2007
16 Jul 2007
13 Jul 2007
Wii U Virtual Console
15 Jul 2015
30 Apr 2015
21 May 2015
Cameos
8-bit Mario
Screenshot required
In the haunted mansion, find a room with a vase in the center. Jump inside the vase, and Mario jumps out again as an 8-bit sprite, as he appeared in the arcade Donkey Kong. When you jump back into the vase or exit the room Mario returns to normal.
Luigi's Diary
Once you get the Super Boots, return to Mario's house and do the Smashing Stomp on a secret panel in Mario & Luigi's bedroom. You will fall through to a secret room that contains Luigi's diary. Several of the entries make reference to other Mario games:
"I remember the carefree days when we played Golf and Tennis and had Parties."
Screenshot required
Nintendo 64
Page 3 of the diary makes reference to the Nintendo 64.
"I heard that a lot of Shy Guys also appeared in Toad Town. Supposedly, they came from Shy Guy's Toy Box. It must be somewhere in town. A Toy Box... I wouldn't mind seeing that. Maybe they have a Nintendo 64!"
Screenshot required
Luigi's Mansion
Together, Page 2 and Page 7 seem to be indirectly referencing the then-future title Luigi's Mansion.
"Because you're my secret diary, I'll tell you the truth: Yaaaah! I hate ghosts!! What will I do if it appears at night! Come back, Mario! I'm scared! Yikes! I can feel something behind me. Ahhh! I'm sure it's there, but I can't look back! No! No! Get away! I think I'll be safe if I don't freeze with fear. I'll just shut my eyes and take five steps back, and then I'll jump and dash into bed. Here I go!"
"I heard a rumor that I actually have lots of fans. Wow! What great news! To live up to their expectations, I want to play the lead in an adventure! Of course, my name would have to be in the title. That'd be sweet... But I know it'll never happen..."
Super Mario Bros. Theme
Screenshot required
On any of the new chapter screens (where the chapter number is shown) don't touch anything on the screen for a while. Eventually the original Super Mario Bros. theme will begin to play.
Minh T.
Screenshot required
Minh T., the flower loving Toad in Toad Town Garden, is named Lip in the Japanese version. Lip was also the name of the flower fairy protagonist of Intelligent Systems' Panel de Pon. Both characters share a love of flowers and even share the same yellow, green and pink colour scheme.
Tayce T.'s Cookie
Screenshot required
The Big Cookie made by Tayce T. includes two cookies that first appeared in the puzzle game Yoshi's Cookie.
Star Rod
Screenshot required
The Star Rod, the legendary item that gives Bowser his extra strength, appears to be a copy of the Star Rod that appeared in Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Dry Dry Desert Train
Screenshot required
The train that takes you to Dry Dry Desert is the same train that appeared on the Kalimari Desert track in Mario Kart 64.