Paper Mario: The Dark Prognosticus

Paper Mario: The Dark Prognosticus is intended to be a reimagining of Super Paper Mario as an RPG that further develops the gameplay established in Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It's the third part in the Paper Mario RPG tetralogy project, which also includes Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Paper Mario: Sticker Star.
== New Features ==
=== Progression Structure ===
Like the original Paper Mario and Thousand-Year Door, the story of the Dark Prognosticus is split into whole chapters, instead of sub-chapters as in the original Super Paper Mario. Chapters end whenever Mario and company either collect a Pure Heart or accomplish some sort of other goal.
=== World Structure ===
Because sub-chapters no longer exist, areas of the game no longer exclusive to them. Instead, the entire game world is interlinked, like in Paper Mario and Thousand-Year Door. The player progresses to new maps by navigating over to pathways leading to an adjacent map, going through doorways, or some other means of conveyance.
With the exception of Chapter 3, the world is also no longer presented as 2D segments capable of being viewed in 3D with a special move, but is instead presented as entirely in 3D, like in Paper Mario and Thousand-Year Door. Mario is still able to flip his perspective of landscapes by 90 degrees, but in Dark Prognosticus this skill is learned at the end of Chapter 6 and is intended mostly to reveal hidden items, NPCs, enemies, and doors, and less-so for puzzles. Mario is also unable to flip his perspective in water, floating in space, or anywhere in Chapter 3. Overall, flipping perspectives is a much-downplayed aspect of Dark Prognosticus.
In order to change up the usual format, lend to unique level design, and gel with its pixel art aesthetic, the entirety of the overworld in Chapter 3 takes place within a 2D plane, like the original Super Paper Mario. The player still engages with enemies in battles like in the rest of the game, however.
Like in the original Super Paper Mario, the player is able to swim underwater. In order to simplify controls, the player is never able to move towards or away from the camera while doing so, instead automatically moving towards and then being locked into a certain depth plane, in which the player will be able to interact with underwater enemies and objects as soon as they dive down. The ability to move towards or away from the camera is restored as soon as the player emerges on the surface of the water. Because all diveable bodies of water in the game take place within relatively-narrow and horizontally-oriented maps, this shouldn't be very noticeable to players. The player is similarly locked to a certain depth plane when floating through outer space in certain maps in Chapter 4.
While underwater and in the outer space segments of Chapter 4, enemies are not engaged with in battles. Instead, they are damaged by shooting them with projectiles or subjecting them to other attacks. Enemies defeated in this way can drop Coins and items for the player to collect, but do not award Star Points. Big Blooper in Chapter 3 and the first Brobot fight at the end of Chapter 4 drop the new HP Boost item in lieu of Star Points upon defeat. HP Boosts allow the player to permanently boost any Hero character's HP by 5 if collected. These HP Boosts will remain in the area they were dropped if the player decides not to collect them.
=== Battle ===
==== Heroes & Partners ====
Much like in the overworld, playable characters in battle are divided into two categories: Heroes (consisting of Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi) and Partners (consisting of Tippi, Preston & Chompers, Raster, Squirps, Marly, Sammy, Luvbi, and Toad). Only one Hero and only one Partner can ever be present in battle at one time. Although Partners can be knocked out in battle without the player having to switch them out, the player will be immediately forced to switch to a new Hero character if they are knocked out. The battle is lost if either all of the available Hero characters are knocked out, or both the current Hero and Partner character are both knocked out or otherwise incapacitated. 
Hero characters are the only ones that have an option to switch out to another Hero character in the middle of battle. Much like changing Partner characters, this will consume that character's turn unless an appropriate Badge is equipped. Hero characters are also the only ones that can use Special Moves involving collected Pure Hearts.
Much like The Thousand-Year Door, Partner characters are able to be upgraded with increased Heart Points (HP), attack power, and new moves when three pieces of Dimensional Energy, found in special blocks, are brought to either Merlon in Flipside or Nolrem in Flopside. Heroes level up by collecting 100 Star Points. In The Dark Prognosticus, both Flower Points (FP) and Badge Points (BP) are pooled between all Hero and Partner characters. HP is not pooled, and if the player chooses to increase it at the level-up screen, they are further prompted to choose which Hero will receive the 5 HP increase. Although this is intended to encourage the player to strategically utilize their available Hero characters in battle, HP Boosts have also been added as items in the overworld, to prevent Hero HP levels from being too low in battle. Usually rewarded to the player for solving puzzles or exploring out of the way places, HP Boosts allow the player to immediately and permanently boost one Hero character's HP by 5 if collected. 
Conversely, to prevent newer players from accidentally increasing HP stats excessively at the expense of FP and BP, the game will recommend that the player boost FP or BP at the level-up screen if either are low compared to collective Hero HP levels. These recommendations can be turned off in an Options menu.
====Battle Positions====
The big addition to the battle system in Paper Mario: The Dark Prognosticus is the expanded Battle Positions system. In Chapter 2, the player receives the Warparound Pipe item from Bestovius. This allows playable characters to warp from the left side of the battlefield to its right side, surrounding the enemies in the middle (or forcing them to the left side if both characters warp to the right). Once a character is on the right side of the battlefield, they can use the Portal Warp Pipe again to return to the left side of the battlefield. If a character warps to a side of the battlefield that already has a playable character present, the warping character will always appear behind the character already there. Once party members are on opposite sides of the battlefield, the player can choose which of the two get to act first at the beginning of the party's turn. 
If a character warps to the other side of the battlefield, some enemies will notice and turn to face where the character ended up warping. The chances of an enemy turning to face the warped character depends on the placement of that enemy compared to other enemies:
*1 enemy present on the battlefield = 100% chance of turning around
*2 enemies = Enemy closest to the warped character has 100% chance of turning around
*3 enemies = Two enemies closest to the warped character may turn around. From closest to least close, these chances are 100% and 50%
*4 enemies = Two enemies closest to the warped character may turn around. From closest to least close, these chances are 100% and 75%
*5 enemies = Three enemies closest to the warped character may turn around. From closest to least close, these chances are 100%, 75%, and 50%
*If both party members warp to the same side of the battlefield, then all enemies facing their original location will spin around in confusion before turning towards them.
* If an enemy facing away from a party member is attacked by that party member, that enemy and all enemies between the attacked enemy and the party member will turn to face the party member after the attack is concluded.
Use of the Warparound Pipe can present the player with several strategic options:
*It allows characters to perform single-target ground-based attacks against enemies who are on the opposite side of the battlefield.
*If a party members attacks an enemy facing away from them, then each strike inflicted on that enemy will do one additional point of damage. For instance, while Mario's basic jump attack does 1 + 1 damage, striking an enemy from behind will inflict 2 + 2 damage. Defense is still factored into the total damage dealt, so if an enemy has 2 Defense, it will remain undamaged by a Jump attack dealt from behind.
*Because enemies tend to attack party members they're facing towards, diverting attention away from enemies on the far side of the battlefield can be beneficial if you want a party member to be targeted by fewer enemy attacks.
*Some enemies in The Dark Prognosticus (such as Tall Pokeys) are too tall to jump onto or over, necessitating that a party member warps to the other side of the battlefield if they wish to damage any other foes positioned behind the tall enemy.
*Some enemies (such as the Jawbus line) are only vulnerable to attacks from the back.
*Some enemies will perform certain attacks if not bounded on both sides by playable characters. For instance, Buzzy Beetles may crawl up the right side of the battlefield and across the ceiling to drop on a party member from above, inflicting lots of damage and potentially Dizzying their targets, if both party members remain on the left side of the battlefield. If surrounded by both party members, Buzzy Beetles will only attempt their less-damaging shell toss attack.
*Most enemy attacks that can hit both party members while on the same side of the battlefield (such as Bowser's streaming flame breath) cannot hit both party members at once if the two are on opposite sides of the battlefield.
However, there are a few limitations and potential drawbacks when using the Portable Warp Pipe to change positions in battle:
*Unlike when characters alternate their positions when on the same side of the battlefield, a character that uses the Warparound Pipe expends their current turn. This can be mitigated by equipping the appropriate badges.
*The Portable Warp Pipe cannot be used during Ambush battles, or when facing the Fracktail or Wracktail bosses.
*The left and right inputs for certain Action Commands are reversed when on the right side of the battlefield, punishing players with a strong muscle memory.
*Team-Up moves cannot be used unless both party members are on the same side of the battlefield.
* Items cannot be selected by one party member and applied to the other if they are on opposite sides of the battlefield. This can be mitigated if the player equips the Item Toss badge.
*Attacks from party members with a large range of effect (such as using a Shoot Star item) may also end up damaging the other party member if they are positioned on the opposite side of the battlefield.
*Because there may be less space between enemies and party members when enemies are surrounded on both sides, the timing to Guard or Superguard against enemy attacks may be shortened. This is especially a problem when facing large-scale bosses.
*Some enemies have attacks that can potentially hit all party members, even if both party members are on opposite sides of the battlefield. There are also a handful of enemy attacks that can potentially strike both party members if they're located on opposite sides of the battlefield, but not if they're both located on the same side. For instance, Ackpows swing their flails behind and then in front of them when attacking. This attack hits both party members if they're located both behind and in front of the Ackpow. If both party members are on the same side of the battlefield, however, only Ackpow's frontward swing causes any damage and it can only hit one target.
====Ambush Battles====
In Ambush battles, both active party members are surrounded by enemy forces in the middle of the battlefield. They're triggered by certain story events, and also by enemies hopping out from behind scenery or dropping from above in the overworld. The player character in the overworld will be briefly stunned by shock when this happens (unless a mitigating badge is equipped), and the offending enemy can trigger an Ambush battle by touching player character in this brief stunned state. When entering the Ambush battle, the active Hero will always be facing enemies to the right, while their Partner will always be to the Hero's left and facing enemies to the left. However, the Hero and Partner are free to swap their positions as soon as the player's turn begins.
Ambush battles put the player at several disadvantages:
*Unlike almost all other battle types, the enemy team gets the first turn.
*The player cannot use the Warparound Pipe.
*Because both the Hero and Partner characters start the battle facing away from some enemies, it's entirely possible for them to be attacked by enemies they aren't facing. When attacked in such a way, active party members inflicted with one additional point of damage from all enemy strikes (although they are still able to Guard or Superguard against attacks from behind to reduce damage). Following the end of the enemy team's turn, both the Hero and Partner characters will be facing the enemy that last attacked them. The player can make them face the opposite direction by either swapping the positions of the active party members, or by targeting an enemy located behind them with an attack.
*Certain attacks or items that target multiple enemies may only be able to strike enemies to the left or right of the player's party.
*Certain enemies have unique attacks that exploit your position in the middle of the battlefield. For example, two Koopa Strikers on either side of the player's party may kick a shell between themselves up to three times, damaging both members of the party each time unless the shell is Superguarded.
*Because there may be less space between enemies and party members when enemies are surrounded on both sides, the timing to Guard or Superguard against enemy attacks may be shortened.
==== Enemy Position Swapping====
Also new to The Dark Prognosticus, enemies are now able to swap their position with adjacent enemies at the beginning of their turn. A maximum of two such enemy position swaps can occur during each turn.
====Team-Up Moves====
Team-Up moves are battle techniques that are performed by both an active Hero and a specific Partner character. Each Partner character has a unique Team-Up move that can only be performed while they are active in battle and adjacent to the Hero character. Team-Up moves can also not be performed if either the Hero or Partner character are afflicted by any immobilizing status effect (i.e. being Frozen). Although Team-Up moves can be selected by both the Hero and Partner characters, they do expend both the Hero and Partner's actions, so they must be selected as soon as the player's turn in battle begins (i.e., you cannot have Mario perform a Jump attack and then have Tippi select her Team-Up move, and you cannot have Tippi perform a Flutter Rush and then have Mario select their Team-Up move). Also, unlike most advanced moves, Team-Up moves consume Heart Power, rather than Flower Points.
Team-Up moves are supposed to be a reflection of a Partner's growing trust in the rest of the party. After participating in at least 35 battles (or 50 in Tippi's case), a specific trigger will appear somewhere in the overworld, be it an NPC or an event. Activating this trigger will make a Partner-specific sidequest available for the player to undertake. These are usually fairly lengthy and involve delving deeper into a Partner's backstory and motivations. After the sidequest is completed, the Partner will increase their trust in the party and their Team-Up move will be available for use in battle.
Team-Up moves usually require pulling off multiple or extensive Action Commands. Screw them up, and the Team-Up move will be considerably weakened at best and harm your party worst. Succeed, however, and the Team-Up move will inflict massive damage onto enemies or provide some other sort of great boon to your team. They are intended to be the riskiest but most-rewarding moves in the game.
The following is the list of available Team-Up moves:
Partner 	Team-Up Move 	Description
Tippi / Tiptron 	Pixelated Prisms	Using the Wii Remote, Tippi transforms into a reticule and targets differently-colored prisms thrown into the air by the participating Hero. Press the A-button when Tippi is over a prism to break it. Breaking certain amounts of differently-colored prisms grants the player various buffs, such as HP (red prisms) or FP (green) restoration, and temporary Attack (yellow) and Defense (blue) boosts. The more of each type of prism you shoot, the more pronounced your benefits will be! Shooting enough prisms to earn at least one beneficial effect also cures both Tippi and the participating Hero of any negative status effects.
Preston & Chompers	Chompers Derby 	Setting Chompers on his feet while standing upside down, Preston allows you to smack Chompers into enemies using Mario / Luigi's hammer, Peach's parasol, or Bowser's spinning shell. After Chompers is launched and hits the nearest enemy for damage, he retracts back along his chain, allowing the Hero character to press the A-Button to strike Chompers again and launch him back at the nearest enemy. This process continues until either Chompers is launched towards enemies ten times, or until the player mistimes the press of the A-button, resulting in Chompers hurtling into the Hero and causing them damage. The more times Chompers is struck, the more damage he causes to enemies upon impact, but he also moves faster and faster.
Raster 	Tsumani Rush 	The player mashes the A-button to churn water that Raster surfs upon. Raster surfs through enemies, causing damage to those he contacts. Press up and down on the Analog Stick to direct Raster's movement while surfing. Upon reaching the end of the battlefield, Raster reappears at the opposite end, still surfing and able to pass through enemies again to damage them further. The goal is to repeat this process as many times as possible in 20 seconds. The faster the player mashes the A-button, the faster Raster will move. The player can also press the Z-button to cause Raster to spin on his surfboard. Not only does this increase the damage dealt to enemies, it's also the only way for Raster to contact hazardous enemies (i.e. those with spikes or flames) and emerged unscathed. Ends prematurely if Raster hits a hazardous enemy without spinning, hits a piece of driftwood, or the player fails to mash the A-button fast enough.
Squirps 	Cosmic Cavalcade	A recreation of the shooter levels in Chapter 4. After being warped into space, the player directs the participating Hero and Squirps by using the D-Pad and causes him to shoot towards the opposite end of the battlefield using the A-button. Out of the opposite end emerges a large swath of asteroids, enemies, and other obstacles. Shoot and destroy enemies and obstacles to potentially be rewarded with a chocolate bar, which Squirps will eat when he contacts it. For each chocolate bar Squirps consumes, the faster the player moves. Eat as many chocolate bars as possible within twenty seconds, after which Squirps returns to the original battle and splits into a vast number of clones. The more chocolate Squirps eats, the more clones he produces, and the more damage those clones will deal when they stampede into the enemy party. This attack ends early if the player is hit by an enemy or projectile, or is crushed by asteroids.
Marly 	Dank Depths 	Marly digs deep beneath the surface to find buried bones and hidden treasures. The player directs him through the dark underground using a flashlight controlled with the Wii remote. Marly will dig to wherever the player is illuminating on the screen. Direct Marly towards bones, Coins, and treasure chests, but avoid hazards like impenetrable boulders, spiky balls, and cantankerous antlions. You can also collect batteries to expand the radius of your flashlight and see more of your surroundings. After twenty seconds, Marly returns to the surface with whatever bones, Coins, and treasure chests he collects. The bones are unceremoniously dumped onto the enemy team for damage, although if you collect enough of them, they are instead assembled into a dinosaur skeleton, which attacks the opposing team for massive damage. The treasure chests may contain rare items like Ultra Shrooms or Ultra Jellies, or awful items like Dried Shrooms. Marly's attack ends early if he receives damage underground.
Sammy 	Fog of War 	A thick fog covers the battlefield, into which the participating Hero and Sammy jump into. The Hero and Sammy alternately emerge from the fog, either jumping on enemies or throwing projectiles at them (if they're hazardous to touch due to flames, spikes, etc.). Each time either the Hero or Sammy jumps on an enemy or hits them with a projectile, the player is randomly prompted to press either the 2-, 1-, or A-buttons. Successfully pressing the prompted button will allow Sammy's Team-Up attack to continue. Otherwise, the Hero or Sammy miss their target and awkwardly fall to the ground, ending the attack early. The longer the attack lasts, the more quickly the Hero and Sammy move and the faster button prompts appear and must be pressed. The attack automatically ends if any enemies are remaining on the battlefield after 20 seconds.
Luvbi 	Tip the Scales 	This Team-Up move can either be supportive or offensive in nature, depending on choices of the player. A large pair of scales will appear on screen, which the participating Hero moves to the left or right using the D-Pad. Luvbi can also swap the positions of the left and right scales using the 2-button. The scales are split into two halves, yellow and purple. The goal is to fill up one half with treasures raining from the sky, causing it to spill over and bestow benefits upon the player. However, the more treasures are in the scale when it spills over, the greater the benefits will be, so it might pay to counterbalance the opposite scale somewhat to ensure the scale you want to overflow doesn't do so too soon. If the yellow scale overflows, Grambi appears and bestows HP and FP restoration upon the Hero and Luvbi, while also curing any negative status effects. If the purple scale overflows, Queen Jaydes appears and strikes the entire enemy team with bolts of lightning, causing defense-piercing damage. The player gets nothing if neither scale overflows by the end of twenty seconds.
Toad 	Toad Rally 	The Hero automatically dashes through a short 2D course reminiscent of Chapter 3, with the goal of collecting Coins and Toads found along the way while avoiding or defeating enemies. Enemies can be defeated by jumping on them, kicking a Koopa Shell into them, or running into them under the effects of a Super Star. Toads the player collects will run behind the player, and if the player makes it to the end of the course, they are awarded with an additional Toad. The 2D segment ends if the player makes it to the end of the course, is damaged by an enemy, or falls into a pit. After the 2D segment is done, the collected Toads (plus the party member Toad) swarm the enemy party, either jumping on them or pelting them with turnips (if an enemy is hazardous to jump on) in quick succession. The player can boost the damage output by pressing the 2-button as each Toad lands on an enemy or each turnip hits an enemy.
==Characters==
===Heroes of the Light Prognosticus ===
A group of four foretold heroes mentioned in the Light Prognosticus, who must come together to counter the end of all worlds predicted in the Dark Prognosticus.
Hero 	Description
Mario 	A humble plumber from the Mushroom Kingdom. Through the goodness of his heart and sheer grit, he's saved his world from domination and destruction multiple times. But will he have what it takes to save all worlds from annihilation? In battle, Mario is extremely versatile, possessing both nimble jumps and powerful hammer strikes.
Overworld Abilities
*Jumps - Like all the Heroes, Mario is able to jump using the A-button, allowing him to traverse gaps and changes in elevation. When his Boots are upgraded to the Super Boots, he's able to press the A-button after jumping to come crashing back down to earth, allowing him to break wooden and icy barriers on the floor.
*Hammer Swings - Mario uses a Hammer both in battle and as a way to clear obstacles in the overworld. With his default hammer, he's able to destroy basic blocks, but with the Super Hammer, Mario is able to destroy metallic blocks.
*Flipping Perspectives - At the end of Chapter 7, Mario is taught by Grambi how to observe the world from a new angle, allowing the player to shift their view of the current map by shifting their perspective by 90 degrees. Doing so can reveal hidden items, NPCs, enemies, and even doorways leading to entirely new areas. The view changes back to default if Mario travels to a different map or enters water. Flipping is not possible in or under water, while floating in outer space, or anywhere in Chapter 3-exclusive areas. Utilizing this technique is required to get through Castle Bleck in Chapter 8.
Peach 	The beloved princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, who is often spirited away against her will, but never by Count Bleck before! She somehow escapes his castle and is found in Flipside between Chapters 1 and 2. Peach is a supportive character in battle, able to use her turn to restore a small amount of HP to herself or her Partner. She's also capable of delivering multiple low-damage strikes when jumping on enemies, but this means she has a tougher time dealing with enemies with higher defense stats.
Overworld Abilities
*Parasol Float - Peach is able to jump and then press the A-button again to whip out her parasol. This allows her to gently float down while descending, allowing her to traverse over larger gaps than other characters. When upgraded to the Super Parasol, Peach's parasol is able to catch wind gusts, allowing her to travel through the air even further or even ascend using updrafts!
*Heart - Peach is pure of heart and a really nice person to boot! She can manifest her innate goodness of character by concentrating briefly and then generating a heart symbolizing her good intentions. Peach is able to toss this heart at NPCs to convince them to help her party or get them to tell the truth, or use it to briefly pacify raging enemies. Upgraded to the Super Heart, Peach is even able to restore dead things back to life, causing withered plants to bloom back to their full glory and reanimate long-desiccated piles of bones.
Bowser	The feared and respected King of Koopas, who never ceases in his plots to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom and make Peach his bride. As evil as he insists he is, he is opposed to senseless destruction, but only because that would mean there would be less for him to take over one day. Mario finds him and his remaining loyal baddies transplanted to the Open Plane in Chapter 3. Boosting +1 damage to all direct attacks, Bowser is an offensive powerhouse, able to hit a hit swath of enemies hard, each and every turn. In return, Bowser guzzles FP quickly when using advanced attacks and has a slight delay when attempting to Guard or Superguard.
Overworld Abilities 
*Shell Spin - Jump and then press the A-button again to rev up Bowser's shell in midair. Upon returning to the ground, he'll take off spinning inside his shell either to the left or right, depending on what direction he was jumping. In this state, he's able to safely cross beds of spikes and skip across the surface of water. He's also able to jump while spinning ahead. Bowser's Super Shell will strengthen it even further, to the point that he can now skip across the surface of lava without breaking a sweat!
*Fire Breath - Like any good monster-king, Bowser is able to spew flames out of his mouth. Initially, these come in the form of fireballs, able to light torches and set plants and fuses aflame. After acquiring his Super Flame upgrade, he's able to unleash concentrated streams of fire, allowing him to melt icy barriers.
Luigi 	Mario's more reserved brother, who is less enthusiastic about the whole adventuring thing but will come through in the end when push comes to shove. Luigi remains uncounted for during most of Mario's adventure, but Mario eventually reunites with him in the depths of the Underwhere in Chapter 6. Luigi operates very similarly to Mario in battle, although the timing of his Jump and Hammer Action Commands are slightly different. His advanced Jump moves are also entirely unique to him.
Overworld Abilities
*Jumps - Like Mario, Luigi has a very basic but functional jump that allows him to get around. Upon getting his own pair of Super Boots, however, he's able to hold the A-button after jumping to charge up a Spring Jump, allowing him to reach high ledges and hit high blocks and switches.
*Hammer Swings - Both Luigi's basic hammer and Super Hammer have the same characteristics as Mario's.
===Partners===
During their adventure, the Heroes of the Light Prognosticus will encounter those willing to dedicate themselves to their cause and join their traveling company. These individuals have their own talents that help the Heroes both in battle and in navigating the overworld.
Partner 	Description
Tippi / Tiptron 	Tippi is a Pixl, beings composed of magical energy that were created by the Ancients to assist them in various tasks. Following a Pixl rebellion, their creation was outlawed and today Tippi remains one of the few Pixls left. She's constantly doubting herself, even though she's worked tirelessly alongside Merlon to protect the multiverse from various threats. Mario encounters Tippi at the end of the Prologue, after she takes him to Flipside. After Tippi sacrifices herself at the end of the game, Mario can purchase Tiptron, a recreation of her with all of Tippi's abilities, from Francis at Fort Francis. Unlike all other partners, Tippi and Tiptron are always following Mario in the overworld, with the active partner following behind her and Mario. This does not extend to battles, where she can leave the battlefield in favor of bringing out another partner.
*Overworld Ability 
**Tattle - Due to her extensive travels throughout the multiverse, Tippi is extremely knowledgeable about various places and things. To hear what she has to say about a specific person or thing, aim at them with the Wiimote and press the A-button. This ability even extends to battle, where she can use her Tattle move to tell you the characteristics, stats, and weaknesses of enemies. As a bonus, after being Tattled, that enemy type will permanently have their maximum and remaining HP visible during battles.
*Battle Moves
**Flutter - Tippi / Tiptron swoops back and forth into a single target. Does 1 + 1, 2 + 2, or 3 + 3 damage.
**Tattle - Tippi / Tiptron tells the player about an enemy, their stats, and any strategy that might be used against them. Afterwards, all enemies of that type will have their maximum and current HP displayed.
**Multi-Flutter (3 FP) - Functions similarly to the Flutter move, but continues until the player misses an Action Command. The initial damage starts at 2 or 3, but decreases by 1 for each time Tippi / Tiptron swoops into an enemy. If the Action Command is successfully pulled off and Tippi was able to at least damage the enemy initially, each swoop will never do less than 1 damage.
**Aurora Charge (4 FP) - Tippi / Tiptron fills the present Hero with chromatic energies, allowing them to make another move during the player's turn. Even works if Tippi and the Hero are on opposite ends of the battlefield.
Preston & Chompers	Preston is a contractor that used to work with Welderberg to create connections between dimensions. The two had a falling out and Preston was forced to take on renovations work to make ends meet. Unfortunately, this landed him at Merlee's Mansion and he soon ended up in its debtor's prison. Preston projects a very rough personality and has trouble trusting people, but he's a big softy when it comes to his pet Chain Chomp, Chompers. When Mario and company manage to free Chompers from Merlee's captivity in Chapter 2, Preston immediately joins Mario's party out of gratitude. Once free, Preston and Chompers take advantage of their newfound freedom to see the rest of the multiverse with Mario.
*Overworld Abilities
**Chomp Fling - Preston can fling Chompers either in the air or along the ground at various angles. Press the A-button to bring up five different angles that Chompers can be tossed, and press the Down button on the D-Pad to switch the selectable angles from in the air to along the ground, and visa-versa. Once your desired angle is chosen, press the A-button again. Chompers will be flinged in the selected direction a certain distance, before being retracted along his leash. Flinging Chompers can have a variety of uses, retrieving items across gaps, hitting Item Boxes or switches that are far away or at odd angles, and using Chompers's sheet bulk to destroy cracked walls or other objects.
**Machinery Repair - After his wrench is retrieved from Rubee Savings & Loan, Preston is able to repair broken machinery. Depending on what's being repaired, however, he may require a certain number of Gears or other specific parts to do so.
*Battle Moves
**Chomp Toss - Preston tosses Chompers at the nearest ground- or air-based target. Inflicts 2, 4, or 6 damage.
**Chomp Roll (3 FP) - Preston jumps on top of Chompers and rolls with him across the ground, hitting any ground-based enemies along the way. Inflicts 2, 3, or 4 damage.
**Safeguard (4 FP) - Chompers protects the present Hero. If they're directly targeted by any enemy during the next turn, Chompers lashes out and bites them, inflicting 2, 3, or 4 damage. Preston and the Hero must be on the same side of the battlefield for this move to work.
**Chomp Volley (5 FP) - Chompers is tossed at any enemy target by Preston, inflicting 2, 4, or 6 damage. If the Hero is on the opposite side of the battlefield, they can volley Chompers back at the targeted enemy (or another random enemy if the target was defeated) by pressing the 2-button as Chompers falls towards them. The volleyed strike causes an additional 2, 4, or 6 damage.
Raster 	An elderly penguin living in a shack along the Tile Pool Coast of Chapter 3. He was a professional surfer back in the day, but got tangled up with the fabled Big Blooper living in the Tile Pool and almost drowned. After attempting to cross the Tile Pool themselves and utterly failing, Raster agrees to help the group after hearing about the plight of the multiverse, and fully commits to Mario's party once the Big Blooper itself is defeated. He has a very mellow demeanor (except when it comes to her initial fear of water), and believes that things always happen for some bigger cosmic reason.
*Overworld Abilities
**Swim / Dive - Raster has the ability to navigate freely across the surface of water, as well as underwater in sufficiently-deep areas. Raster is automatically made the active partner if the player enters water after he joins the party. On the surface of water, use the D-Pad to move about. Press the A-button to dive beneath the waves. Underwater, use Up and Down on the D-Pad to ascend and descend, and use Left and Right to travel, well, left and right. Underwater, Raster can let out ultrasonic waves using the 2-button, which allows him to damage enemies. Navigate back up to the surface to return to it, and press the A-button on any accessible shoreline to exit the water.
*Battle Moves
**Slide - Raster slides towards the nearest ground-based enemy. Causes 2, 3, and 4 damage upon impact.
**Squirt (2 FP) - Raster squirts a glob of water at a target. Causes 2, 3, and 4 damage, but doubles if used on a fire-based enemy, like Lava Bubbles.
**Lagoon-a Tune-a (3 FP) - Raster strums his ukelele, which inspires the present Hero and increases their next move's attack power by 2.
**Big Wave (6 FP) - Raster summons a gigantic wave, which strikes all enemies (and Heroes!) on the other side of the battlefield with 2, 4, and 6 damage. This is doubled if the enemy is fire-based.
Squirps 	His full name is Squirp Korogaline Squirpina, but you can call him Squirps. A seemingly-random and somewhat annoying alien that Mario's team awakes from hibernation shortly after entering Chapter 4. He has a slightly bratty and scatterbrained personality, constantly getting distracted and running ahead of Mario's group despite him being one of their only leads on the Pure Heart located in Chapter 4. Eventually, it's discovered that Squirps was placed into statis by his mother Queen Squirpina XIV for 1,500 years in order to aid the Heroes of the Light Prognosticus in recovering the Pure Heart locked away in the Whoa Zone. Even after this task is accomplished, Squirps still decides to tag along with the group for fun.
*Overworld Abilities
**Shoot - Squirps can shoot blasts of energy across the overworld. This is mostly used to break faraway blocks or trigger faraway switches, and to recharge drained giant batteries, which can have a variety of effects once powered up, from opening doors to rewarding the player with an item.
**Duplicate - After being fed a Chocolate Bar, Squirps duplicates into a copy of himself. These clones can be used for a variety of purposes, from fitting into Squirps-shaped keyholes to pressing down buttons. Unlike Squirps himself, they have white eyes and talk in extremely serious and solemn tones. After they've served their purpose, they tend to explode in a shower colorful confetti.
*Battle Moves
**Blaster Shot - Squirps fires an orb of plasma into an enemy target. This does 2 damage. As Squirp's rank increases, he's able to fire two shots with this move, and then three.
**Explode-O-Clone (3 FP) - Squirps creates a clone of himself, who promptly marches forward and explodes into the nearest ground-based enemy. Does 5, 6, and 7 damage, and does double-damage to ground-based members of the Shlurp enemy family facing Squirps. This move is automatically activated in battle without expending FP if Squirps is fed a Chocolate Bar.
**Piercing Shot (4 FP) - Squirps fires a special blast at the nearest ground- or air-based enemy. This blast will not only pass through to all other enemies at that elevation for 2, 3, and 4 damage, but also ignores defense stats.
**Alien Abduction (3 FP) - Squirps uses a tractor beam in an attempt to remove one enemy out of battle. If it succeeds, the player is still awarded Star Points, as if that enemy had been fought and defeated.
Marly 	The loyal wolf-dog of world-famous explorer / television personality Flint Cragley, who usually accompanies Flint and assists him in sniffing out buried relics and digging them up. A while back, Flint undertook a special project and left Marly back at home. Marly is concerned about his master's continued absence, and has ventured out to find him. After Mario's team rescues Marly from an angry stampede of Muths, Marly decides to join them. Even after Flint is found in King Croacus's Palace and out of harm's way, Marly is more than happy to stick with Mario after Flint asks him to dog-sit his pet, while he spends time editing his camera footage. Marly can only communicate in barks, woofs, and other dog sounds, but this is translated roughly for the player and everyone else seems to understand him just fine.
* Overworld Abilities
** Detect - Marly's keen nose is able to detect hidden treasures underground, including sacks of Coins and Star Pieces. An icon will appear above Marly if buried items are present on the current map, and the icon will change and Marly will become more excited as he homes in on their exact locations.
** Dig - If at any point Marly is an active partner and above soil, sand, or snow, Marly can dig underground using the A-button. Once underground, the player can move him about in soil, sand, or snow using the D-Pad. Any Coins or other items founder underground are automatically added to the player's inventory. While underground, the player is also able to pass under narrow openings. To return to the surface, press the A-button again. Impacting enemies while underground won't prevent battles from occurring, but it does perform a unique First Strike that stuns an enemy for the first turn of battle.
* Battle Moves
** Bound - Marly ponderously leaps onto an enemy. Said enemy suffers 2, 4, or 6 damage.
** Undermine (4 FP) - Marley digs underground towards a ground-based target. All ground-based enemies along the way suffer 1, 2, or 3 defense-piercing damage. When Marly reaches the target, he suddenly bursts upwards, causing 2, 4, or 6 defense piercing damage. In addition, all enemies damaged by this attack and able to be flipped onto their backs (Koopa Troopas, Clefts, etc.) will be flipped on their backs.
** Snarl (4 FP) - Marly snarls ferociously at the enemy party. Those facing Marly may be intimidated and shrink down in size, lowering their attack power by 2. This lasts for 2 or 3 turns, depending on Marly's rank.
** Big Dig (7 FP) - Marly digs strenuously for buried treasure. Along the way, he unearths a plethora of debris that can impact the enemy party. These include dirt clods (cause 1 damage), stones (2 damage) and bones (3 damage). The player is prompted to mash the 2-button at this time; the faster the player mashes the button, the faster Marly digs and the more debris is knocked into enemies. After finished digging, Marly has a chance of emerging with a treasure chest (which increases the faster the player mashed the 2-button). This chest can contain a Dried Shroom (5% chance), a Shroom (10%), a Super Shroom (25%), and Ultra Shroom (2% chance), Honey Syrup (10%), Maple Syrup (25%), Jammin' Jelly (2% chance), Fire Flower (10%), Thunder Rage (7%), or Shooting Star (4%). If the player's inventory is full, Marly uses the item immediately.
Sammy 	A mysterious ninja that stalks Mario as they make their way to Sammer Village in Chapter 6. After getting kicked out of King Sammer's Castle the first time they attempt to sneak past the guards, Sammy formally introduces herself and says that she also wishes for an audience with the King, so she joins the party. It turns out that Mario and Sammy had the same request, to partake in the Duel of 100. Shortly before the Sammer Kingdom is consumed by the Void, Sammy reveals that she's actually the daugher of King Sammer, and wanted to undertake the Duel to prove she was a worthier successor than the heir apparent, her younger bother Lil' Sam. As their world is destroyed, King Sammer shoves her into Mario as he uses the Warp Whistle to escape, and Sammy warps back with him to Flipside. Until the Sammer Kingdom is restored in the postgame, Sammy is consumed with guilt about her previous desires and the annihilation of her people. Even after the kingdom is brought back, she remains dedicated to defending the Sammer people and safeguarding their culture.
* Overworld Ability
** Smoke Bomb - Sammy throws down a smoke bomb, after which both she and all other active party members disappear from sight. This can be used to sneak around in areas patrolled by guards, avoid fights with enemies, or otherwise avoid detection. The player has to remain still to remain invisible, and will flip back into view once the player moves, jumps, or performs another move.
*Battle Moves
**Secret Slash - After the player targets an enemy, Sammy disappears in a puff of smoke. After a brief countdown, the player is prompted to push the 2-, 1-, or A-Button. If done successfully, Sammy suddenly reappears and attacks the target with a single strike of her sword. This attack does 2, 3, or 4 damage and ignores enemy defense stats.
**Vanish (2 FP) - Sammy vanishes in a puff of smoke and is unable to be hit by enemy attacks during the next turn. If the Hero character is located on the same side of the battlefield as Sammy when she performs this move, they vanish and avoid enemy attacks as well. During the party's next turn, Sammy won't be able to act.
**Bomb Toss (4 FP) - A moving cursor appears that moves between 0 and 90 degrees relative to Sammy. When the player presses the 2-button, she tosses a bomb, which explodes and causes 6 or 7 damage when it contacts an enemy. This damage is doubled if the enemy is in the Shlurp family and is facing Sammy. Other enemies caught in the bomb's blast radius are also inflicted with 3 to 4 damage. The move fails and Sammy suffers 3 damage if the player fails to press the 2-button 8 seconds after the move begins.
**Shuriken Star (6 FP) - Sammy jumps into the air and prepares to throw a giant shuriken. A moving cursor that moves between 45 and 135 degrees relative to Sammy appears on screen. When the player presses the 2-button, Sammy throws the shuriken in the direction of the cursor. All enemies in its path suffer 4 defense-piercing damage. The move fails if the player doesn't press the 2-button after 8 seconds.
Luvbi 	The daughter of Grambi of the Overthere and Queen Jaydes of the Underwhere, or so it seems. After Bonetail and his forces escape the Frozen Pit Prison, Jaydes tasks Mario with taking Luvbi to the relative safety of the Overthere. By the time they get there, Bonechill has already arrived and reveals the truth that Luvbi is in fact a manifestation of the final Pure Heart, created by Grambi and Jaydes in a bid to hide its location. Over the years, however, the two came to care for Luvbi as their actual daughter. Luvbi joins Mario's party after returning from the Frozen Pit Prison in Chapter 7, and leaves the party after Chapter 7 concludes. However, she can be rejoin the party in the postgame by speaking with her in the Overthere. She's initially quite spoiled, selfish, and rude, but gradually begins to comprehend and take responsibility for the plight of the Overthere and the wider multiverse.
* Overworld Ability
** Rune Interaction - Having lived in both the Underwhere and Overthere, Luvbi is familiar with the magical runes present in them. Once she interacts with such runes, they lead to a number of effects, such as new paths opening up.
* Battle Moves
**Dizzying Slap - Luvbi slaps a target 3, 4, or 5 times, inflicting 1 damage for each slap. The attack also has a 50% chance of inflicting the Dizzy status on the enemy during their next turn, so long as the Action Command was pulled off successfully and Luvbi caused at least some damage.
**Pilfer (2 FP) - Luvbi rushes up to an enemy and, if the player performs the Action Command correctly, steals any item in that enemy's possession. If there's no room in the player's inventory for said item, Luvbi uses it on herself immediately.
**Duplicitous Kisses (5 FP) - After selecting an enemy target, Luvbi kisses them, causing 5 or 7 damage. If the Hero character is on the same side of the battlefield as Luvbi, she also kisses the Hero character to heal them by the same amount.
Toad 	This Toad is a Toad who is also THE Toad, that is Princess Peach's royal retainer and all-around assistant. After informing Mario and Luigi of Princess Peach's kidnapping at the beginning of the game, he follows the brothers to Bowser's castle and then somehow winds up lost across the different dimensions. He can be found in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, usually being harassed by some enemies and always in need of help. If the player has taken the time to help him in each Chapter, he makes his way to the Overthere and is trying to awaken Princess Peach when Mario finds him. After she's awoken, Toad joins the party, vowing to become tougher to help protect Peach. If the player hasn't helped Toad out, they can revisit prior Chapters to do so, after which Toad can be found in Flipside and join the party. He's cowardly but will face his fears if that means keeping Peach out of harm's way. Toad is a completely optional partner.
* Overworld Ability
** Turnip Toss - After a brief delay, Toad plucks a turnip from the ground and tosses it. These turnips are universally recognized as being incredibly tasty, and most enemies will happily dine of them while Mario's party walks on by. A single turnip attracts enemies in the immediate vicinity, but the more enemies that dine of it, the faster it is consumed and the enemies return to their usual behavior. Toad can't pluck another turnip until the existing one is either consumed or disappears if not noticed by enemies in roughly fifteen seconds. Certain enemies (like Magikoopas and Magiblots) are too intelligent to be distracted by eating turnips, but will momentarily walk over to investigate them.