Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door/YMMV


 * Anticlimax Boss:  from Chapter 3. Despite having a whopping 60HP, which is massive for this point, considering the last boss only had 30HP and the next one will only have 40HP, he's still incredibly easy to beat and also pretty easy to superguard as well. Although only if you do it quickly, as he uses his turns to buff himself up to monstrous levels.
 * Catharsis Factor: Let's be honest: using Vivian to beat the ever-loving pigshit out of Beldam near the end of the game is ridiculously satisfying.
 * Common Knowledge: Vivian being transgender in the Japanese release is treated as if it's fact (and it is, for a few localizations such as the Italian localization), but the truth is a lot more complicated. The way her gender is handled is inconsistent, with Vivian referring to herself as a girl, Beldam insulting her by calling her a man, and Goombella just being confused (shown by the way she calls the Shadow Sirens "The Three Sisters(?)" at the end of the game). Further muddying the waters is that the language used in Vivian's catch card in the Japanese release of Super Paper Mario insinuates that she's in fact a crossdressing boy/drag queen/okama. So in reality, the answer to her original gender identity can go one of three ways: she's a crossdressing boy or "trap" a'la Bridget, a trans girl, or a girl who's simply a victim of verbal abuse from an old hag who's jealous of her beauty.
 * Complete Monster: If her backstory alone is anything to go by, is one of the most evil characters in the entire Mario franchise.
 * is a lot lower key, but still pretty vile. Only someone as sick and vain as him would
 * Crowning Music of Awesome:
 * Pretty much all of the bosses have wonderful music. Notable mentions are Hooktail/Gloomtail/Bonetail's boss music and Rawk Hawk's kickass battle theme.
 * Also, the Rogueport Theme, the Rogueport Sewers theme, the X-Naut Fortress theme... hell, this entire game is a Crowning Music of Awesome.
 * Crump, Grodus, and as well, only fitting as they are the main antagonists.
 * Demonic Spiders: Even at level 28 near the end of the game, I dare you to go back to the haunted woods and go toe to toe with an Amazee Dayzee. Even the Crazee Dayzee can still kill you if you've got less than ideal luck.
 * Some of the later monsters in the Pit of 100 Trials can be BRUTAL. Namely, Wizzerds of any sort, Arantulas, and even the dreaded Amayzee Dayzees can show up (sometimes not alone!).
 * 8.8: Game Informer originally gave the game a 6.5. This would have been bad enough, but the reviewer's primary complaint? The writing was bad. The ensuing fan backlash actually prompted two letters of apology. The first one claimed that the reviewer gave the score not of his opinion, but guessing how well consumers would like it. This caused more complaints about the review, so a second apology letter was written with the exact opposite message.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse:
 * You can find a lot of fan art of Vivian...usually with, ah, exaggerated assets. She's also popular in general for being an absolutely adorable Woobie who is a very useful partner in combat.
 * Another incredibly popular partner is the Yoshi Kid you hatch in Chapter 3. The fact that he can come in several different colors, can be named, and is very spunky and entertaining help make him one of the game's most memorable partners.
 * And rounding out the triumvirate of popular partners is Admiral Bobbery, for putting the Badass in Badass Grandpa.
 * For a character that only plays a major role for a short time, Jolene is pretty popular with the fans.
 * Rawk Hawk, for his hilarious and incredibly entertaining Heel personality and kickass boss music.
 * Doopliss. The Chapter 3 and 4 areas are chock full of darkhorses it seems.
 * Flavio. See Unpopular Popular Character below.
 * Fridge Brilliance: Defeating nets you a grand total of... . Players will naturally rage at this... until realizing that
 * It's the same with
 * Cortez's forms. First, a four-armed skeleton holding each of his weapons. Then, a hunched-over skeleton with some gem in the torso. And finally, his head and his weapons. Why do his forms progress like this? He's falling apart.
 * How come the impenetrable defenses of the Iron Cleft brothers never manage to get further than 10th place in the Glitz Pit? Because the guys directly above them are Spike Tops. Iron Cleft have unbeatable defenses, but only have an attack of 4, Spike Tops have a defense of 5.
 * However, one of the Iron Clefts explicitly states that their spikes can "penetrate any substance" (exact words), so it's Fridge Logic, really.
 * Fridge Horror: At the bottom of the Pit of 100 Trials is.
 * At one point you must look behind a crate. You'll see, until you see the.
 * In Rougeport, there seems to be some dried reddish-brown stuff on the ground. One could easily pass this off as dirt, until you realize that it's next to the gallows, and that it's found nowhere else in town...
 * Fridge Logic: Glitzville is presumably in the skies of the Mushroom Kingdom, yet pretty much nobody there recognizes Mario or !
 * Hate Dumb: Has developed a strong one among hardcore Origami King fanboys who attack fans of this game, the first, and Super for saying anything even remotely critical of it.
 * Hell Is That Noise: The sound the Fuzzies make when they bounce? That now belongs to the Stock Sound Effects. Good luck not worrying every time you hear it.
 * Hilarious in Hindsight: Years earlier in the live action parts of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, a professional wrestler took on the role of Mario. In Glitzville in this game, Mario takes on the role of a professional wrestler, the Great Gonzales.
 * Moral Event Horizon: Sir Grodus . As the player's guide says: "If you don't feel much animosity toward Sir Grodus at this point, you will by the time the event is over."
 * He gets another loathsome moment whenever
 * Chapter 3's villain started out on the wrong side of this by
 * Nightmare Fuel: The bathroom in the glitz pit. Seriously, what the hell, Nintendo?
 * Even worse is
 * The tune that comes with X's e-mails (from the ice world in Super Mario Bros. 3)
 * The 'victory' music that plays at the end of a battle and your partner has been knocked out. Ugh...
 * Nightmare Retardant: Doopliss's abilities remain terrifying throughout Chapter 4, but that doesn't change the fact that the one responsible for the town's curse is a Bedsheet Ghost in a party hat and bowtie who is sitting in an easy chair watching TV when you first meet him.
 * Player Punch:
 * Spoiled by the Format: Did you really think would be finished in about 15-20 minutes?
 * That One Boss: is quite hard, even by Final Boss standards. Despite having only 1 Defense and her Attack being outmatched by a boss from 10 minutes ago, she gets multiple attacks per round, as well as being very difficult to time for dodges, so the damage starts racking up very quickly. She also has an attack that will drain your HP, and at one point, eats the audience's SOULS to restore her health. Oh, and there's a pair of very long unskippable cutscenes before the real fight starts. Have fun.
 * . He's got That One Attack where he sucks up the audience in a hose and rapid-fires them at you, dealing completely massive damage unless you can block correctly.
 * There's also, primarily because,
 * Hell, even Hooktail can be surprisingly difficult if you don't equip the Attack FX Badge that she's weak too. 5 damage from every attack is brutal, especially since one of her main attacks is fire breath that hits both Mario and his partner at the same time.
 * The Scrappy:
 * Flurrie is easily the least popular partner, which can mostly be attributed to her design. However, she has been slowly, but surely gaining popularity due to being surprisingly useful in the Pit of 100 Trials as well as a sweetheart to Punio and his Puni brethren. Then there are the people who like said off-putting design due to finding her to be more of a Big Beautiful Woman.
 * TEC is also one for people who are really disgusted the subplot involving him and Peach. To the point where
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Jolene's brother and the Glitz Pit's first champion, Prince Mush. After he could have been a good Bonus Boss along with Bonetail and the Atomic Boo.
 * He was at one point intended to be a bonus boss... but instead, after the end of Chapter 3, you never see him again.
 * Unpopular Popular Character: Despite being universally hated in-game, Flavio has a surprising fanbase.
 * The Woobie: Vivian. Oh God.
 * Hell, Bobbery qualifies too.
 * Hell, Bobbery qualifies too.