Paper Mario 64: All Partners RANKED!

The partners are one of the best and most fun features in the original Paper Mario, and it is highly unfortunate that the newer Paper Mario games won’t return to their roots and implement a good partner system! Due to the nature of this game, I will be ranking the partners from best to worst based on how well they support Mario… just dealing damage is not enough for me to consider them a good partner! Now without further ado, RPG Ranked presents… Paper Mario: All Partners RANKED!

C Tier

8. Parakarry

By the end of the game, Parakarry is virtually outclassed by every other partner. His basic attack, Sky Dive? Worse than both Bow and Lakilester in almost every way. His Shell Shot? It’s great at the beginning of the game, but other abilities are just as good by the end of the game. His Air Lift? It is useless no matter where you are in the game since it doesn’t award you Star Points (luckily they fixed this with the fantastic Gale Force in TTYD). His Air Raid? Weaker than Mega Bomb and much weaker than Tidal Wave. Basically, other than using Shell Shot during the first half of the game, Parakarry has nothing that sets him apart from the other partners. Is he terrible? No, I still put him in C Tier. But overall, since all he can do is damage, and since he can’t even do damage as well as Bombette, he is the worst partner in the game.

7. Bombette

Bombette is in the same boat as Parakarry: she can only deal damage. However, since she has early access to the powerful and crowd-clearing Power Bomb, she is an essential character to use in the first half of the game. She, along with Kooper, also have the ability to start the battle with a First Strike. This is her biggest advantage in the late-game, as she attacks with her Bomb ability instead of her basic attack. However, due to it being incredibly hard to execute and due to Mario being stronger than Bombette in the endgame, this isn't all that great. Overall, due to having the ability to First Strike and having better damage capabilities than Parakarry, she ranks above him, but she still is no better than C Tier.

B Tier

6. Lakilester

You may be wondering… why is the partner whose name is a pun on the word “lackluster” not on the bottom of my tier list? Good question. The answer is two words: Cloud Nine. Sure, he has a decent basic attack—and his other two abilities are worse than burnt rubbish—but what really matters is Cloud Nine. This ability is one of the best abilities in the game. With this ability, you can basically have the effects of Close Call at all times! This ability trivializes any battle or boss in the last two chapters of the game. However, as a whole, Lakilester is a one-trick pony, so overall, I couldn’t rank him any higher than the B Tier.

5. Goombario

Let’s get this straight: Goombario is the best single-target attacker in the game. With Charge and Multibonk, Goombario can deal huge amounts of damage to any boss that is unlucky enough to cross his path. He can also assist the player by giving them the knowledge to understand the fight with his Tattle ability! But outside of tattling and dealing damage to unprotected bosses, he is one of the least versatile partners in the game. I prefer partners that can make Mario overpowered and deal damage on their own… and Goombario can’t quite do this. Overall, since he is the best single-target attacker and has great utility with Tattle, he is better than Parakarry and Bombette, but he is still no better than B Tier.

A Tier

4. Kooper

Kooper can kill groups of enemies for only a little bit of FP with Power Shell. He can also decimate ice enemies and Dry Bones with his Fire Shell. Sure, those two abilities are all fine and dandy, but his true strength lies in his Dizzy Shell ability. He can disable enemies for three turns. That’s insane. I also find that Dizzy Shell has a higher hit rate than Power Shock, so against ground enemies? Stick with Dizzy Shell. Due to the incredible power to completely disable enemies from attacking and deal damage to all enemies on the screen, overall, Kooper is an A Tier partner.

3. Bow

Bow has one useless ability, sure. The next two characters don't have that, and that's why they are in S Tier and Bow isn't. But now that that's out of the way, let's talk about all of Bow's positives. Her basic attack is one of the strongest in the game, and her Fan Smack is even better! She can hit almost any enemy in the game, unlike Goombario! But her versatile attacks aren't what put her this high on the list; Outta Sight is. This ability makes Mario invincible, which is great for dodging powerful attacks! It also basically grants Mario a second turn upon use, and can be used over and over until you run out of FP. This is incredibly useful, as it allows you to deal tons of damage without taking in any damage! Overall, Bow's versatile and powerful attacks, as well as her overpowered Outta Sight ability land her a spot in the A Tier.

S Tier

2. Sushie

Sushie is the first character on this list that I feel has everything a partner needs: a support ability, a powerful single-target ability, and a powerful multi-target ablity. Sushie has one of the better support abilities in the game in Water Block, which in addition to Cloud Nine makes Mario a very powerful tank! Sushie also has Squirt, a single-target attack that is powerful and can deal double damage to fire enemies! But best of all is Sushie's Tidal Wave, the strongest multi-target partner attack in the game... and it's not even close! This ability can deal up to 13 damage... and it costs lest than its weaker counterparts! And if you are fighting fire enemies? You can deal twenty-six damage with one attack. That's insane. Sure, Sushie isn't my favorite partner by any means, but there is no denying her incredible skillset. Is she the best at everything? No, but she is a great jack-of-all trades type of pick in almost any situation. Overall, Sushie is a very balanced character with means to do everything I find necessary in a partner.

1. Watt

Too many people say that Watt is bad. People have been sleeping on using Watt for the longest time, and I couldn't tell you why. Watt has three insane things going for her: being able to increase Mario's damage for multiple turns with Turbo Charge, break through defense and hit any enemy on screen with Electro Dash, and (best of all) stun all enemies on screen for multiple turns with Power Shock. With just Watt, you can end almost any enemy encounter in the game without even taking a single damage point. Execute Power Shock as soon as you enter a battle, and you've basically won. Watt also finds great use in boss fights like the Crystal King where the boss has a bit of defense, as Goombario and Bow are quite a bit weaker in those fights. Also, Watt is the only partner that can increase Mario's damage, so that really adds up if you use Power Bounce. Overall, with the ability to break through defenses, buff Mario, and stun the entire enemy team, it would almost be blasphemous to put Watt anywhere but first on this list.

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