Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (マリオ&ルイージRPG ペーパーマリオMIX, Mario ando Ruīji Ārupījī Pēpā Mario MIX?, Mario & Luigi RPG Paper Mario MIX), titled Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. in Europe and Australia, is a crossover game between the Mario & Luigi series and Paper Mario series, effectively serving as a sequel to both Dream Team and Sticker Star. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is the fifth game of the Mario & Luigi series and the sixth in the Paper Mario series. It was released in Japan, Europe, and Australia in December 2015, North America on January 22, 2016, and in South Korea on May 26, 2016.
For nearly eight to nine years, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam was the last main installment in the Mario & Luigi series, that is until June 18, 2024 when the Nintendo Direct announce an all new installment, Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
Story
The story begins when Luigi accidentally knocks over a book found deep in Peach's Castle due to being frightened by a Scaredy Rat while attempting to fix a hole in the roof. This book happened to be holding the Paper Mario world within.
This ultimately releases the paper characters into the Mario & Luigi world, spreading across the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser and Paper Bowser, despite some disagreements between one another, decide to team up, combine their armies and kidnap their respective Princess Peach.
After the crew make it to Bowser's castle, the bridge gets cut off. Then Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario get sent to the Twinsy Tropics Dungeon.
After returning to Peach's Castle, they realise that the princesses have been taken to the summit of Mount Brrr. When they make it there, the both Kameks take them back to Bowser's Castle.
When the crew makes it to the top of Bowser's Castle they realise the princesses have already escaped, but then both Bowser Juniors interrupt and battle Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario.
After the battle both Bowsers show up and transform the castle into Neo Bowser Castle. Then Mario and others return to Peach's Castle, where their next mission is to head to the summit of Mount Brr, where the castle is.
Characters
Playable
Papercraft Characters
While these are not really characters, they are giant paper robots built by Toadette for the main characters use.
- Papercraft Mario
- Papercraft Luigi
- Papercraft Peach
- Papercraft Yoshi
Non-Playable
- Paper Luigi (only in Music Player mode)
- Princess Peach
- Yoshi
- Starlow
- Toads
- Toadette
- Nabbit
- Lakitu
- Flutter
- Scaredy Rat
Enemies
- Goomba
- Koopa Troopa
- Dry Bones
- Hammer Bro.
- Spiny
- Pokey
- Piranha Plant
- Shy Guy
- Ninji
- Bob-omb
- Scaredy Rat
- Spike
- Buzzy Beetle
Mario & Luigi Series-Exclusive
Paper Mario Series-Exclusive
Papercraft Enemies
- Goomba
- Pokey
- Spike
- Mechakoopa
- Spiked Ball
- Koopa Shell
- Bob-omb
- Dry Bones
- Boo
- Bullet Bill
- Whomp
- Airship
Bosses
Mario & Luigi series
- Petey Piranha
- Big Pokey
- Wiggler
- Chargin' Chuck Brigade
- Bowser Jr.
- King Boo
- King Bob-omb
- Kamek
- Wendy
- Roy
- Ludwig
- Larry
- Morton
- Iggy
- Lemmy
- Bowser
- Shiny RoboBowser
- Dry Bowser
Paper Mario series
- Tower Power Pokey
- Paper Petey Piranha
- Paper Bowser Jr.
- Paper Kamek
- Paper Bowser
Papercraft Bosses
- Papercraft Megacrinkle Goomba
- Papercraft Kamek
- Papercraft Bowser Jr.
- Papercraft King Boo
- Papercraft Bowser
Special Attacks
Special Attacks return with their categorization dictated by user: Mario and Luigi use Bros. Attacks, while Paper Mario uses Trio Attacks. Once again, Special Attacks cost Special Points (BP).
Bros.
Bros. Attacks return with their system similar to Superstar Saga and Dream Team.
- Mario: Mario tends to _target a single foe for his Bros. Attacks.
- 3D Red Shell—Returning from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, this move has been unchanged, but now uses six hits instead of five, leading to seven (rather than eleven) kicks.
- Special Cost: 4 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: 1 kick. (Getting zero kicks cannot happen unless you _target a flying enemy.)
- Okay: 2 or 3 kicks.
- Good: 4 kicks.
- Great: 5 or 6 kicks. (The sixth kick deals no damage.)
- Excellent: 7 kicks.
- _target: Single (serial)
- Obtained: Peach's Castle.
- Rocket Blast—A new Special Attack that replaces the Bye-Bye Cannon. Mario and Luigi fly high on the rocket above their _target. Luigi then stomps a foe and then Mario stomps down with the rocket in his hands. Mario then has to guide the rocket towards his opponent and smack them with his hammer to complete the move.
- Special Cost: 5 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: Both bros. failed to stomp.
- Okay: One bro. stomped properly.
- Good: Mario stomped properly but struck the side of the enemy field.
- Great: Either Luigi flubs his stomp but Mario strikes his _target directly, or both Bros. get it but Mario strikes off _target.
- Excellent:: Both Bros. stomped correctly and Mario strikes his _target directly.
- _target: Single (Phase 1), All (Phase 2)
- Obatined: Doop Doop Dunes
- Bomb Derby—Same as in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, except the bombs now deal fire damage to their _target and the last bomb deals more damage.
- Special Cost: 7 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: 4 hits or less.
- Okay: 5 to 7 hits.
- Good: 8 or 9 hits.
- Great: 10 or 11 hits.
- Excellent: 12 hits.
- _target: Single (generally), All (if the _target died)
- Obtained: Gloomy Woods
- Cannonball Chuck—Mario throws a cannonball north toward the battlefield, and Luigi must direct it towards the _target enemy. This replaces the Jet-Board Bash.
- Special Cost: 9 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: You threw the cannonball the wrong way or didn’t hit the enemy at all.
- Okay: You struck the battlefield's ground.
- Good: You struck an enemy from the side.
- Great: You swooped down on the wrong foe, or you failed to strike the _target.
- Excellent: You swooped down on the correct foe.
- _target: Single*
- Obtained: Doop Doop Dunes (Nabbit Multiplication Mission)
- Toad Trail—Mario and Luigi ride the Toad Trail north and bowl towards their _target. This replaces the Zee Egg.
- Special Cost: 12 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: You fell off the trail, or missed the enemy.
- Okay: You went slowly.
- Good: You went decently quick, but not that quick.
- Great: You went super fast, but struck the wrong enemy, or you failed to strike properly.
- Excellent: You went super fast and struck the correct _target properly.
- _target: Single*
- Obtained: Mount Brr (After the trio defeats King Bob-omb.)
- 3D Red Shell—Returning from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, this move has been unchanged, but now uses six hits instead of five, leading to seven (rather than eleven) kicks.
- Luigi:
- Fire Flower—Same as in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. This replaces the 3D Green Shell.
- Special Cost: 4 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: Utterly wrong.
- Okay: 10 or less fireballs.
- Good: 11 to 16 fireballs.
- Great: 17 to 20 fireballs.
- Excellent: 20 fireballs plus at least 10 fireballs during the second phase.
- _target: All (random)
- Obtained: Peach's Castle.
- Drill Shell—Mario and Luigi jump high above their _target while Luigi wears a drill-like helmet that covers his head. Mario must dunk Luigi down on the foe and then Luigi has to grind his foe up to deal damage. The fire flower originally took this move's spot in Dream Team.
- Special Cost: 5 BP
- Ratings: The requirements below are just the criterias.
- Bad: Completely missed.
- Okay: Indirect hit.
- Good:
- Direct hit scenario: 0 hits.
- Indirect hit scenario: 10 hits.
- Great:
- Direct hit scenario: 10 hits.
- Indirect hit scenario: 20 hits.
- Excellent:
- Direct hit scenario: 20 hits.
- Indirect hit scenario: Impossible.
- _target: Single
- Obtained: Doop Doop Dunes.
- Dropchopper—Same as in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, except instead of tilting the 3DS, it uses the Control Stick.
- Special Cost: 7 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: Completely missed or landed on a Spiny _target.
- Okay: 1 second to spare, then stomp.
- Good: 2 seconds to spare, then stomp.
- Great: 3 seconds to spare, then stomp.
- Excellent: 4 seconds to spare, then stomp.
- _target: Choose
- Obtained: Doop Doop Dunes (road to Mount Brrr)
- Balloon Blast—Mario and Luigi inflate Balloons with pumps that are similar to a see-saw. Press their respective buttons to inflate the balloon. It will grow more the higher the Bro. is. For an Excellent rating, the balloon must be so big that the top of the screen cuts its top part out of view. This replaces the Slingsniper.
- Special Cost: 9 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: 40% required size or less.
- Okay: 40 to 70% required size.
- Good: 70 to 90% required size.
- Great: 90 to 100% required size.
- Excellent: 100+% required size.
- _target: All (random)
- Obtained: Gloomy Woods (Skyjinks with Nabbit mission)
- Mega Thwonk—Luigi grows to his maximum size by consuming a Mega Mushroom and must head toward hits _target. Near the end, press A to strike. Mario must stomp their _target into the ground. This replaces the Star Rocket.
- Special Cost: 12 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: No stomps
- Okay: 1 stomp
- Good: 2 stomps
- Great: 3 stomps
- Excellent: 4 stomps or _target dies.
- _target: All (phase 1), Single (phase 2)
- Obtained: Neo Bowser Castle.
- Fire Flower—Same as in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. This replaces the 3D Green Shell.
Trio (Paper Mario)
- Trio Racket—Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario play racquetball with their enemies plastered on the background wall as _targets.
- Special Cost: 6 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: 1 or 2 hits
- Okay: 3 to 5 hits
- Good: 6 or 7 hits
- Great: 8 or 9 hits
- Excellent: 10 hits
- _target: Single (generally)
- Obtained: Sunbeam Plains
- Trio Kite—Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario strap their _target on a giant kite and fly it high. Paper Mario must then strike the _target with his hammer.
- Special Cost: 8 BP
- Ratings:
- Bad: Missed.
- Okay: 800 meters or less.
- Good: 800 to 1,200 meters.
- Great: 1,200 to 1,400 meters.
- Excellent: 1,400 meters or higher.
- _target: Single
- Obtained: Doop Doop Dunes
- Trio Whirligig—Paper Mario warps his body to form a propeller and the Bros. ride him down to strike their _target.
- Special Cost: 11
- Ratings:
- Bad: No enemies caught.
- Okay: One stomp.
- Good: Two stomps.
- Great: Three stomps.
- Excellent: 4 stomps.
- _target: All (choose)
- Obtained: Mount Brrr
- Trio Shuriken—Paper Mario warps his body to form a shuriken and the Mario brothers throw him toward the enemies. Press Y to have Paper Mario shred his _target, dealing more damage as he tears through.
- Special Cost: 13
- Ratings:
- Bad: Missed.
- Okay: 1 or 2 hits.
- Good: 3 or 4 hits.
- Great: 5 or 6 hits.
- Excellent: Strike with the large shuriken.
- _target: All
- Obtained: Peach's Castle (Defeat Bowser Jr. beforehand.)
- Trio Meteor—Paper Mario and the Mario brothers ride meteors down to smash their _target.
- Special Cost: 15
- Ratings:
- Bad: Missed.
- Okay: 1 hit.
- Good: 2 hits.
- Great: 3 hits.
- Excellent: 4 hits.
- _target: Choose
- Obtained: Collect all Paper Toads to unlock this move.
Notes
- Bomb Derby: If a bomb kills the _target, the remaining bombs will strike random _targets.
- Cannonball Chuck: The _target is actually Choose, but the selected _target must be struck for an Excellent rating.
- Toad Trail: Ditto from Cannonball Chuck.
- Trio Racket: Ditto from Bomb Derby.
Gallery
Trivia
- This is the first Mario game to feature a crossover of two different Mario series.
- This game is considered a combination of Dream Team and Sticker Star.
- This game has achieved several milestones:
- This is the fifth Mario & Luigi game.
- This is the second Mario & Luigi game for the Nintendo 3DS.
- This is the second Mario & Luigi game, where two Bowsers from different times/dimensions appear in the same game. The first was Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, where Bowser encountered his younger self.
- This is Petey Piranha's second time in a Mario & Luigi game. His other appearance was in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
- This is the second time in a Mario & Luigi game where three characters are playable (as Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario). The first was in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (as Mario, Luigi, and Bowser).
- This is the tenth Mario RPG.
- This is also the sixth Paper Mario game.
- This is the first RPG in the Mario series to feature no save blocks. The player can save whenever they want to.
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam has one of the most complex plots in the Mario & Luigi series, and one of the most complex plots in the Super Mario Bros. series as a whole, with many events involving character arcs that all tie-in with the game's overall main plot, some cut-scenes even focuses on other characters besides Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario.
- This is the first game in the Mario series where each of the Koopalings are given extended dialogue, rather than their usual grunts and roars.
- This is also the Koopalings' second time in a Mario & Luigi game, with their first time in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
- This is the second Mario game to feature Petey Piranha as the first major boss. The first time was in Super Mario Sunshine.
- This is the second time Bowser teams up with himself from a different time and universe. The first time was in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, where he teamed up with his younger self.
- During the point at Gloomy Woods, where King Boo kidnapped the Marios, Luigi is left in a scared state. This first happened in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga where Luigi was too afraid to go to Guffawha Ruins, due to being told there is a monster there.
- Starlow breaks the fourth wall by saying Luigi had a whole year dedicated to him (the Year of Luigi) and mentioning that they are in a RPG.
- This is the first Mario game since Mario Kart DS where King Boo and King Bob-omb appeared together as bosses. This is also their first appearance in a Mario RPG.
- This is the first Mario & Luigi game where the first fight in the game isn't against a boss. Although it is a tutorial battle, it's against a couple of Goombas.
- This is the first Mario & Luigi game where the entire plot doesn't revolve around collecting certain key items.
- This is the first (and so far only) Mario & Luigi game where the Beanish species doesn't appear at all. This is also the first Mario & Luigi game not to feature Toadsworth, the Bonus Level-Up Roulette, and the spin jump.
- It is possible Paper Jam takes place between Sticker Star and Color Splash in Paper Mario's timeline.
- Roy Koopa mentions the Koopalings get their paper counterparts foreshadowing their appearance in the next game.
External links
Characters | Protagonists | Mario • Luigi • Paper Mario |
---|---|---|
Antagonists | Bowser • Bowser Jr. • Koopalings | |
Other | ? Card Toad • Crinkle Goomba • Delivery Toad • Flutter • Kamek • Know-It-All Toads • Lakitu • Monologue Toad • Nabbit • Paper Bowser • Paper Bowser Jr. • Paper Kamek • Paper Luigi • Paper Peach • Paper Toads • Princess Peach • Scaredy Rat • Starlow • Toad • Toadette • Yoshi | |
Papercraft | Papercraft Mario • Papercraft Luigi • Papercraft Yoshi • Papercraft Peach • Papercraft Fire Mario | |
Enemies | Normal | Ant Trooper • Big Tail Goomba • Biddybud • Boomerang Bro • Broozer • Bully • Buzzy Beetle • Chain Chomp • Cheep Cheep • Fire Bro • Fire Piranha Plant • Fly Guy • Goomba • Hammer Bro • Horned Ant Trooper • Koopa Troopa • Mechakoopa • Monty Mole • Ninji • Pokey • Sandmaargh • Shy Guy • Spike • Spiny • Urchin |
Paper | Paper Bob-omb • Paper Boo • Paper Boomerang Bro • Paper Broozer • Paper Chain Chomp • Paper Dry Bones • Paper Fire Bro • Paper Fire Piranha Plant • Paper Fuzzy • Paper Goomba • Paper Hammer Bro • Paper Koopa Troopa • Paper Ninji • Paper Paragoomba • Paper Paratroopa • Paper Scaredy Rat • Paper Shy Guy • Paper Sombrero Guy • Paper Spear Guy • Paper Spike • Paper Spiny • Paper Swoop | |
Papercraft | Airship • Bob-omb • Boo • Bullet Bill • Dry Bones • Goomba • Koopa Shell • Mechakoopa • Pokey • Spike • Spike Ball • Whomp | |
Bosses | Mario & Luigi | Petey Piranha • Big Pokey • Roy Koopa • Wendy O. Koopa • Wiggler • Chargin' Chuck Corps • Larry Koopa • Ludwig von Koopa • Bowser Jr. • King Boo • King Bob-omb • Kamek • Iggy Koopa • Lemmy Koopa • Morton Koopa Jr. • Bowser • Shiny RoboBowser • Dry Bowser |
Paper Mario | Paper Tower Power Pokey • Paper Petey Piranha • Paper Kamek • Paper Bowser Jr. • Paper Bowser | |
Papercraft | Papercraft Megacrinkle Goomba • Papercraft Kamek • Papercraft Bowser Jr. • Papercraft King Boo • Papercraft Bowser | |
Items | Collectibles | 1-Up DX • 1-Up Mushroom • 100-Coin • ? Block • Battle Card • Bean • Bomb Bud • Boo Biscuit • Candy • Clothing • Coin • Command Block • Double 1-Up Mushroom • L Block • Lakitea • M Block • Max Mushroom • Max Nut • Max Candy • Max Syrup Jar • Mushroom • Nut • P Block • Refreshing Herb • Spinny Flower • Super Mushroom • Super Nut • Super Candy • Supersyrup Jar • Syrup Jar • Ultra Mushroom • Ultra Nut • Ultra Candy • Ultrasyrup Jar |
Key items | Berry • Copy Block • Dash Socks • Fire Ore • Key • Melon • Paper Mario book • Paper trampoline • Red medallion | |
Locations | Locations | Peach's Castle • Sunbeam Plains • Doop Doop Dunes • Doop Doop Dunes Grotto • Twinsy Tropics Dungeon • Twinsy Tropics • Gloomy Woods • Mount Brrr • Bowser's Castle • Neo Bowser Castle |
Special attacks | Trio Attack | Trio Racquet • Trio Kite • Trio Whirligig • Trio Shuriken • Trio Meteor |
Mario Bros. Attack | 3D Red Shell • Rocket Blast • Bomb Derby • Cannonball Chuck • Toad Trail | |
Luigi Bros. Attack | Fire Flower • Drill Shell • Dropchopper • Balloon Blast • Mega Thwonk | |
Miscellaneous | Stats | Defense • Experience Point • Heart Point • Power • Rank • Special Point • Speed • Stache |
Moves | Dash • Hammer • Jump • Slide • Team Jump • Trio Drill • Trio Glider • Trio Grab • Trio Hammer | |
Status effects | Burn • Creased • Crumpled • DEF-Down • DEF-Up • Dizzy • Fury • Invisible • Mini • POW-Down • POW-Up • Prohibited Command • SPD-Down • SPD-Up | |
Miscellaneous | Gallery |