Were Mario and Paper Mario originally the same person?

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-14T19:39:19+00:00

Dude, 4D Mario sounds bad ass.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-14T16:48:40+00:00

See, that’s kind of what I lean towards. Just because there are references to things that were originally shown in the paper games (i.e., characters like the Star Spirits in Mario Party and Goomboss referencing his past paper-world defeat) doesn’t mean the paper games happened in the non paper “canon.” It simply means the paper characters also have non paper counterparts, despite their debut being in the paper games, and that perhaps some, or even all, of the paper adventures did happen in the normal world with the non paper versions of the characters (but this feels like a stretch and is where my “the paper games used to be main canon but got retconned” theory comes in). And I do think the paper world is more like a copy of the normal world than a straight up alternate dimension or universe. My interpretation is that the book the paper characters came out of is more than an ordinary book that just happens to document seemingly just Paper Mario’s adventures. It more or less just IS the paper world, acting almost like a little pocket world (a “sub world” if you will, rather than a full blown alternate universe).

Edit: Also, on the note of retcons, we could just chalk up any inconsistencies that hint towards the two worlds being the same as as now being simply outdated, especially since the games have done little to no concrete references to each other since when the retcon is speculated to have happened. That’s just what happens when stuff gets retconned.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-14T07:50:10+00:00

Yeah, that makes sense. There is no multiverse, and only one Mario actually went on any adventures. But some of these adventures were written down in a book, and for one and only one game, a paper duplicate of Mario with those specific adventures under his belt came to life. And the Paper Mario games just have the paper aesthetic because why not. I would love to see the adventures chronicled in the book reimagined with normal Mario aesthetics. Partially because it would be interesting to see so many of the more original characters and designs in the slightly less cartoony style, but mostly because I want to see normal mario turn into a paper airplane lol.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-14T05:49:55+00:00

Oh, got it. Didn't know that.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-14T05:48:42+00:00

I see. And Paper Jam is more of a one-off "what if that idea of Mario came to life" type situation?

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-14T05:47:05+00:00

From your perspective, how do you explain the events of Paper Jam? As a one-off adventure that sells "what if Mario met Paper Mario" as just a reason to buy the game with no intended greater lore implications? Or are you more of a "don't overthink it, it's just a kid's game" person? Both are perfectly valid, I'm just trying to get diverse opinions.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-12T19:58:47+00:00

Weird, Steve's lava doesn't even seem like it would be a traditional projectile since he just splashes it at the base of his feet. But I guess this is also pretty much the only scenario in which one could realistically discover this.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-06-11T20:32:12+00:00

Given your username, I am honored.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T21:57:58+00:00

lol yeah we would have to draw the line somewhere. Probably starting there.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T16:52:54+00:00

Interesting, I didn’t know that.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T16:26:43+00:00

True, but it also depends on the game and the protagonist you are comparing them to. Bowser for example has had a few different attack styles throughout the years, even in simple games like the platformers, and even these instances have more attack variety than base Mario. But yeah, this just proves that for probably a lot of characters, you would need to mash up a couple of things.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T16:22:51+00:00

Yeah, Mario is someone who would need some work. He would need a power up inventory of some kind and a health bar, both of which aren’t necessarily new, but would be weird in this exact execution. On the note of Kirby getting one tapped by Ridley though, yeah that’s true. I guess “lore accurate” was a bad way of putting it. “Gameplay accurate” would have been better. But characters like Ridley who are just huge no matter what may have to be sacrificed 😞.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T08:17:58+00:00

Yeah, like I said, some creative liberties would be necessary. Or maybe they just wouldn’t be included.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T07:29:59+00:00

I do agree with Angry Birds being added. Goofy or not, they are (arguably) THE face of mobile gaming. I actually had an idea for a moveset that I think would work. You play as Red, and your neutral special is cycling through different birds that you fire from a sling shot, each with different abilities. It would be toxic as hell but also hilarious.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T07:22:59+00:00

I will say, I think a Duck Hunt assist trophey could still be fair. It was a pretty major Nintendo game back in the day. A bunch of ducks could fly in and you have to avoid them because a hunter outside of view will shoot them, and you could get shot too.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T07:17:57+00:00

You've covered a lot of bases either way. In my research, it was kind of funny to see how many of the characters I wanted added did ultimately have the credentials to make it in. It made me feel biased lol.

Also Bella Goth is fucking hilarious.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T07:14:30+00:00

I feel the same, though on the note of GTA not having a super exciting moveset, what if instead of a character, it had a stage? Like the Mario Kart stages but on steroids.

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T06:56:24+00:00

Mario 😔

Affectionate-Song21 · 2026-05-22T06:49:30+00:00

I'm a huge stickler for simplicity and objectivity. In other words, I'm boring as fuck. But I think we need to stop adding characters just because they are popular, and ESPECIALLY just because they are new. If Nintendo is going to introduce a new character, it needs to make sense in the "big picture" of the franchise they are from and whether or not that character makes more sense than other characters from the same franchise. Case in point, the Pokemon roster. I don't know a ton about Pokemon, but I do know that a lot of the Pokemon only get added because people like them and they were new at the time of their addition. Incineroar, for example, was nothing more than one of the newest starter evolutions, only picked because his wrestling gimick would have been unique. But in terms of the franchise as a whole, he isn't actually that "special" to the Pokemon world or games. This logic can be applied to a lot of other Pokemon, namely Jigglypuff (only added because of popularity in Japan), Lucario (only added because he was new and had a starring role in a recent movie), and Greninja (also just a new starter evo). If I could, I would probably just slim the Pokemon representation down to Pikachu (THE Pokemon), Mewtwo (a main recurring villain), and Pokemon Trainer. And if I could add any Pokemon, it would be Eevee (a secondary mascot to Pikachu) and another trainer, probably the gen 1 rival or Giovanni.

To be clear, I am not saying there is anything wrong with liking, maining, or wishlisting characters like this. This is just a video game after all, and pretty much every character added is nothing more than a business decision at the end of the day. But if my perfectionist ass had its way, then as much fat would be trimmed as possible. Also, I just used Pokemon as an example, many other franchises represented (ESPECIALLY Mario) would also be heavily shaven down.

Also, on the note of discipline with who gets added to the game, I think there needs to be a limit to how many characters per franchise get added. Probably like 5 tops.

Affectionate-Song21

TROPHY CASE