Let's bump this thread up a bit shall we? Reposting my moveset from Wiseguy's thread to here.
Paper Mario
Weight: 1
Size: 2.5
Strength: 4
Speed: 4
Reach: 3
Fallspeed: 1.5
Paper Mario's strengths lies in decent speed and strength but has a major weakness in being easily KOable since...well he's made out of paper and thus shouldn't weigh hardly anything at all.
Why?
First of all, he isn't a clone of Mario whatsoever. The fact that he has many attacks RPG style and certain signature moves from his games (such as hammer attacks) that wouldn't befit regular Mario at all proves this, as well as Mario using attacks (punches and kicks) and signature moves (fireball) that have absolutely nothing to do with Paper Mario and when you really take a look back on the moves they actually share in common, that amounts to practically nothing. This ain't a Doc Mario/Mario sort of relationship, Paper Mario really can hold his own against his rather more weighty alter ego.
You may be thinking to yourself now "Yeah, OK, I see your point, he won't be a clone. So what? That isn't a
'why' he should be in!" Well if you actually need a why he should be in, you've obviously never played the Paper Mario games. They are utterly fantastic, RPG brilliance in such a fresh way that breathes life back into a franchise which doesn't deviate from the norm as much as it should. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to play SPM yet (thanks Nintendo! Screwing over Europe since 1975!) but from what I've heard and read it's equally fantastic (deserving in the +9.0 scorewise) as both PM1 and 2 which I can thoroughly recommend. With 3 vastly successful installments in the series, and arguably one of the best Mario spin-offs (in my opinion better than Mario Kart) of all time, I would think that it deserves a little representation.
To those that have never played Paper Mario games, let me explain. In the first 2 you are playing as Paper Mario in a wonderfully colourful and stylised world (different in each game of course). The entire world is 3D yet 2D at the same time and they use this to great advantage in both conveying the art form and style of the game as well as using it in puzzles and environments. The second one also introduces different field abilities and puzzles which use this feature more predominantly too. The whole story is told through the device of a storybook and your goal of both is to collect an amount of object X to thwart the evil doer. It is obviously much more complicated than that (kinda, it's Mario after all) but it illustrates nicely how the game is split up as you play through "Chapters". Character customisation is simple yet effective, at level up you can choose to increase either HP or FP (like mana points for all attacks other than default moves) by 5 or BP (badge points) by 3. Badges are the real ingenius part of Paper Mario 1 and 2 because by equipping them it allows great character customisation, and they add such things as new moves, different stat upgrades and added effects. Anyway if you haven't played either and are a fan of RPGs, I
strongly recommend either (Wii VC download for the first if you can or cheap GC buy for the second).
Onto more moveset related things.
Paper Mario brings uniqueness, my moveset will attempt to prove that. Since I haven't played SPM I obviously cannot really use any of those elements found in it for a moveset but since it is more platformer I think I would make a better moveset from using the more RPG orientated first 2. What Mario brings to the table that no other would is partners. Any character could have a moveset based on their game with hammer moves and aerial attacks but what they can't offer are interchangable B moves reaching into a wealthy backcatalogue of partners. If this moveset was done more for SPM I would have a standard B moveset with interchangable B moves with different Pixels, but since the design PM1 and PM2 are so similar it wouldn't make sense to not take advantage of that. After all, half the partners in PM2 are revamped, improved versions of some of those found in PM1.
So what we're looking at here is a potentially very fun, unique moveset with the protagonist from an under-repped but very successful spinoff franchise who just happens to be Mario, albeit a bit flatter. Paintbrush boy (I'm looking at you Bowser Jr.!) can go suck a lemon, or something. That a big enough wall of text? I think so, right, onto the actual moves.
The Moveset
Ok, so here I'll just list the moves that Paper Mario will use, drawn from PM1 and 2 with references showing which game they're coming from. If there ain't a reference, it's because I couldn't think of anything and so yeah, made it up or stole it. Just as a little disclaimer, don't expect this moveset to be balanced or anything since I wouldn't have a clue where to start, any figures produced for damage or lagtime are purely placeholders for if a developer should choose to pick this up (never going to happen) and put some proper figures in their place.
A moves
A - Swings the hammer horizontally to the right - 2%
A,A - Swings the hammer horizontally to the left - 2%
A,A,A - Standard over-the-head hammer attack (PM1+2) - 5% (not an infinite A combo)
A->(tilt) - Fire Drive, creates a fireball and hits it with his hammer which then travels in a straight line for a short distance before fizzling out. Projectile A move? A tilt move? Yeah I went there. (PM2) - 9% (If anyone wants to ***** about it, the far more generic "Ice Smash with a small chance of freezing could be used, but this is far more fun isn't it?)
Av(tilt) - Quake Hammer, slams the hammer down infront of him causing major damage to those infront of him and a small quakey splash damage to those in a line infront of him for a small distance. Those hit by the hammer will also suffer the quake damage. (Adaptation from PM1+2, since he doesn't actually hit them with the hammer) - 7% / 4%
A^(tilt) - Hammer Throw, throws the hammer vertically up and then catches it again (PM1+2) - 8%
A->(smash) - Ultra Hammer, Paper Mario winds up (literally) and then unleashes a devastating blow for large damage. He continues to spin afterwards, doing minor damage to those who contact him for that brief period. The more you charge the smash, the more he winds up, just to be clear (PM2) - 15-23% / 4%
Av(smash) - Mega Quake, slams the hammer into the ground beneath him sending out devastating quakes either side of him. This move has high vertical knockback (Adaptation from PM1) - 14-21%
A^(smash) - Spring Jump, Paper Mario winds down (again, literally, he's paper you know) and then launches himself up vertically. Winds the more you charge and goes a greater vertical distance on top of additional damage (PM2). - 10-20%
Dash attack - Spindash (attack version), Paper Mario spins like a whirlwind dealing damage to anyone in his path (PM1). 8%
Nair - Spin Jump, Paper Mario rotates himself midair, proving a deadly blow to anyone that gets in the way of his spinning legs or finds themselves on the receiving end of Mario's bottom. While this move won't propel you downwards it will stop all upwards momentum (due to no downward stompyness, more of an adaptation of PM1+2) - 12%
Fair - Tornado Jump (PM2 version), Paper Mario spins forward, creating a tornado which combos enemies for 7 hits - 2% per hit, 14% max damage
Dair - Tornado Jump (PM1 version), Paper Mario spins vertically upwards before sharply coming back down again. While it propels you up vertically at first, the overall effect of the move is that you end up lower than you originally started. The downwards component only brings you down for a limited amount of time, and is also a meteor smash - 2% per combo on the way up (max 3 hits for 6%), 8% for the stomp
Bair - Power Jump, Paper Mario kicks behind him with vast power (PM1+2 adaptation) - 13%
Uair - Hammer Jab, jabs vertically upward with his hammer - 10%
Grab Moves
Paper Mario doesn't grab. Feet or hammer to the face is as about as close and personal as he gets, so this section will be improvised.
A - Hammer bonk, hits them on the head with the hammer - 3%
Forward - Throws them up slightly and hits them away with the hammer similar to Fire Drive but with human(ish) fireballs - 10%
Up - Spins round and then throws them vertically upwards - 8%
Backward - Winds up, spins around similar to Ultra Hammer and releases them flying backwards - 12%
Down - Hammers them down towards the ground - 9%
B Moves and Partners
This is where it gets interesting and unique. A simple tap of B will perform "Quick Change" which will simply swap to the next partner of which there are 4. The partner mechanics are simple, they provide the Bv and B> moves for Paper Mario and follow him around wherever he goes but never attack unless initiated with Bv or B>. They also affect the final smash for Paper Mario, as his final smash (to be expounded upon later) will be partner based. First the 2 moves which don't change.
B^ - Paper Mario plane (PM2) - Sure every little boy knows how to make a paper airplane, but only Paper Mario knows how to turn himself into one. He's that awesome. This move is controlled like it in the game, being that you need to push up to control it's descent otherwise it'll fall and be very ineffective, thus decent Paper Mario players will need to master the intricacies of aviation. This move has great horizontal recovery, potentially really awesome if you're good, but no vertical recovery whatsoever. However with Tornado Jump (PM1 version), Paper Mario does has (albeit a very limited) vertical recovery. Should players bump into the plane, they'll suffer a paper cut. Fools! - 8%
B - Quick change (PM2 badge) - Paper Mario switches between his 3 partners; Kooper (PM1), Bobbery (PM2) and Vivian (PM2) which rotate in that order, Kooper being the default partner but holding different buttons (Z for Bobbery, A Vivian) between stage selection and the match starting will result in different starting partners. Not much delay on the partner change and Paper Mario can't attack during it.
Partners
Kooper
Best Koopa going, even with the slightly tacky name.
B> - Dizzy Shell (PM1 Dark Koopa version minus the hilarious grin), Kooper is shot out spinning creating a tornado which disables/dizzies players who run into and then continues to spin on the spot for 2 seconds before returning - Anyone hit by the shell takes 9% damage, tornado does none
Bv - Shell Toss (PM2 improved version), Kooper is jumped on by Paper Mario and shoots out forwards before rocketing backwards past Paper Mario. If B continues to be held, Kooper will stay fixed on the spot until B is released at which point he will fire backwards - 14%
Admiral Bobbery!
You can't not love him, it's technically impossible.
B> - Bomb Squad (PM2), With a cheeky wink, Bobbery throws 3 miniature bomb-ombs in an arc over Paper Mario's head to land apart in a line infront of him. The bombs explode a short time later - 5% each
Bv - Bomb, with a cheeky wink, Bobbery starts to walk at his leisurely pace forwards for 3 seconds before exploding and landing back at Paper Mario's side. Another press of Bv at any time will stop Bobbery in his tracks, but he won't explode instantaneously as he'll take the remaining time of the 3 seconds to explode instead - 20%
Vivian
Much better than Casper.
B> - Shade Fist (PM2), Vivian appears infront of Paper Mario and punches forth with a flaming spectral fist - 14%
Bv - Veil (PM2), Vivian grabs Paper Mario and hides him in the ground for upwards of 1.5 seconds, at which point they resurface and Paper Mario suffers 0.5 seconds of delay. Paper Mario is immune to all attacks while under Vivian's Veil - 0%
Final Smash
Alright so Paper Mario technically has 3 final smashes depending on which partner he has out.
With Kooper out: The Koopa Bros. for PM1 appear and stack onto of Koopa in his shell, making a 5 man Koopa tower. Each Koopa in the tower adds to the height, making the Shell Toss move much harder to avoid. Dizzy Shell is replaced with "Fire Shell" (PM1) which does 22% per hit but you lose 1 of the Koopa Bros. each time you use it until all 4 Koopa Bros. are lost. Affect ends prematurely if Paper Mario is KO'd. Figures and effects subject to change depending on how overpowered FS are meant to be.
With Admiral Bobbery out: Bob-ombast, Admiral Bobbery walks foward, gives a cheeky wink and explodes feriociously damaging all in the blast radius for 50% damage with huge knockback (PM2). Figures and effects subject to change depending on how overpowered FS are meant to be.
With Vivian out: Fiery Jinx, Vivian engulfs the arena in pillars of flame which do 30% damage each. Figures and effects subject to change depending on how overpowered FS are meant to be.
Kirby Hat
Kirby inhales Paper Mario and transforms into Paper Kirby, as seen in this excellent picture posted by Brawlmatt.
While in this form, he gets whichever partner Paper Mario had out at the time and B changes to whatever the partner's Bv was (so either Shell Toss, Bomb or Veil).
Taunt
Paper Mario does his end of chapter celebration pose (I believe they're the same in both PM1 and 2) while his partner does his appeal move from PM2 although in the case of Bobbery this would have to be adjusted to a smaller height after the explosion since he can't go flying off for a star KO. This is accompanied by some confetti.
