Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: All Badges RANKED!
I love the badge system in this game! In fact, I loved it enough to not upgrade my HP or FP until the 75th floor of the Pit of 100 Trials! Anyway, enough talk. Let's get delving into... Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: All Badges RANKED!
Pennington Tier
85. Slow Go
This literally hinders the player for absolutely no reason. There simply is no use for this badge and it makes you go slower in a game where you already move slow enough.
84. Attack FX Y
There isn't any reason to equip this, but there's also no reason not to. Since its just cosmetic, it is kind of worthless, but at least it isn't worthless like Slow Go. And its not worthless because it is fun, even if it isn't useful.
83. Attack FX G
Like the sound better than Attack FX Y...
82. Attack FX P
Better sound than Y and G...
81. L Emblem
Yes! Giving me a Luigi costume is just what I needed in TTYD! But as much as I love this amazing costume, it doesn't do anything in battle. And on top of that, the W Emblem looks a little bit cooler—it's a pain that this badge has to be so low!
80. W Emblem
I love this badge because the look is just great! But even better than just the W Emblem, or just the L Emblem... is both together! Because Waluigi can finally get the credit he deserves! But again, the W Emblem has no reason to be used in battle, so it couldn't take a higher spot on this list.
79. Peekaboo
I think Simplifier is useless, but I hate this badge more because it makes it harder to utilize the Tattle command! However, I guess if a player hates the Tattle ability for some reason, then this is the badge for them.
Luigi Tier
78. Simplifier
This badge makes action commands easier, but gives Mario less Star Power. This is completely unnecessary because the only truly tough action command is the game is Spring Jump. But since this ability is mediocre, this is not a good badge—even for newer TTYD players.
77. HP Drain P
Why would you ever need health in expense of damage with your partners? No idea. At least is isn't 100% useless like Slow Go...
76. Chill Out
Just literally dodge the enemy or get Vivian's timing right... preventing a First Strike is honestly pretty easy.
75. Bump Attack
Why does this badge cost so much BP and why is it so difficult to obtain? I mean it's alright but... it isn't really worth it... so it's okay? I guess?
74. First Attack
This is an easier to get Bump Attack that costs less BP. But still not that great so...
73. Happy Heart P
Again, just like HP Drain P, why would you need health with partners when there's barely any penalty for them dying? At least you don't have to do less damage for this one.
72. HP Drain
At least Mario needs health more than partners do, especially if the player goes the BP only route. But again, this badge is not worth the trouble. Still better than a lot of badges in the game, though.
71. Pity Flower
At least this gives FP instead of HP. But still, what's the point? It doesn't even work very often and simply dodging or superguarding attacks is more effective than taking damage... so Pity Flower is kind of... pitiful.
70. FP Drain
At least this always works, unlike Pity Flower. But you still have to sacrifice your attack for this, so it still sucks.
69. Feeling Fine P
You can swap out partners on the fly, so this badge is kind of bad. But at least there are times this would allow you to prevent Poison and Confuse, which is still better than Happy Heart P or something.
68. Tornado Jump
This ability kind of sucks, which is disappointing because it looks so cool! But the tornado damage doesn't scale at all and since flying enemies aren't particularly challenging in the first place, this ability is no where near as effective as Multibounce or Fire Drive.
67. Happy Heart
This badge pretty much sucks as much as Happy Heart P, but since you get it early enough in the game to actually use it for a little bit before obtaining a replacement, I can forgive its trashiness.
66. Soft Stomp
In theory, lowering the enemy's defense with this ability would be great, but most high-defense enemies end up having low health or having spikes, making it hard to utilize. So it'd be an alright ability if it was easy to utilize, but still completely inferior to Power Bounce or even Spring Jump.
65. Shrink Stomp
This one works against way more enemies than Soft Stomp, but since Mini-Egg and Power Bounce completely outclass this ability, it simply isn't a great badge.
64. Attack FX R
This badge allows you to absolutely destroy Hooktail, and that's a solid use for a badge. That's pretty much all this badge does.
63. Feeling Fine
This badge is much better than Feeling Fine P because Mario can't be swapped out once he becomes poisoned or confused, but its high BP cost still doesn't warrant its use for me.
62. Double Pain
This is already a fun badge because it basically unlocks Hard Mode for the player, but outside of that, it can be lethal if utilized with Return Postage. Utilizing a few badges in addition to these would make an ultimate counterattack setup, but since Return Postage is so costly and difficult to get, this badge is not really worth much unless the player continues to play the game after the Pit of 100 Trials.
61. Return Postage
In theory, this badge could be top tier. However, there are a three major flaws. It is much too costly, it is absurdly hard to get, and it only deals half the damage Mario takes.
60. Head Rattle
This is quite nice to get enemies to attack each other if your team is weaker than you want them to be, but once Vivian gets Infatuate, this is useless.
59. Happy Flower
This badge is quite nice to add some gradual FP gain on top of FP gained by Sweet Treat, Sweet Feast, or Flower Finder. However, it isn't amazing—just decent.
58. Attack FX B
This badge allows you to recruit Ms. Mowz, and that's a solid use for a badge. That's pretty much all this badge does.
57. Lucky Day
This badge has a really good effect, but for getting it on the 90th floor of The Pit of 100 Trials and for it being a staggering 7 BP, it just can't go higher on this list.
Peach Tier
56. Ice Smash
This badge is pretty decent as it inflicts one of the strongest status ailments in the game, but as an attack that's purpose is to inflict a status ailment in this game, it isn't fantastic. It is also a hammer, and it costs 3 FP, so it just is pretty mediocre. However, it is not a bad ability whatsoever, just a flawed one.
55. Charge
This is good right when you get it and it is fun to be super buffed up with multiple duplicates of Charge in addition to Power Lift, a Hot Sauce, a Power Punch, and every attack boosting badge in the game... but it is not worth a turn for most of the game. So is it fun? Yes. Is it great? No.
54. Charge P
Same applies here, but I feel partners might be able to spare a turn using Charge more often than Mario will, so its ranked above Mario's Charge.
53. Super Appeal
Like Unsimplifier, it is always nice to gain extra Star Power, so this is a nice badge.
52. Super Appeal P
Like Super Appeal and Unsimplifier, it is always nice to gain extra Star Power.
51. Unsimplifier
Much better than its counterpart since it increases Star Power gain instead of lowering it for little cost in terms of both difficulty and BP. A decent badge overall.
50. Money Money
Without this badge, getting coins is a nuisance, so this badge is great! This badge helps a lot with players who love to utilize items very often. However, to actually get your hands on this badge, you need either 234 Piantas or 702 coins, making it very hard to obtain. It also costs 5 BP, so it isn't as good as I wish it could be.
49. P Down, D Up P
This is cheap and reliable. However, since defense is inferior to offense in this game (especially when it comes to the partners), this badge falls behind.
48. Defend Plus P
This is great, but costs a buttload of BP. Since it is for Mario's partners, however, it simply isn't as useful as Mario's version since partners don't necessarily need a lot of defense.
47. Pretty Lucky P
A cheaper yet much less reliable version of Defend Plus P. So pretty much just slightly better than it.
46. Damage Dodge P
A great alternative for the last two badges. This badge is more reliable than Pretty Lucky P and is pretty much just an upgrade to it.
Bowser Tier
45. Last Stand P
This can be extremely useful for a Danger Partner setup, but outside of that broken combo, it is just an average badge.
44. Close Call P
This can also really help with the Danger/Peril Mode strategy, and it is also pretty decent outside of that even if partners don't urgently need to stay alive, so a pretty great badge overall.
43. Lucky Start
This ability can give you invincibility, HP, FP, or electrification at the start of battle. Pretty sick, if I say so myself!
42. Hammer Throw
Why would you use Hammer Throw instead of a Jump attack? Because it can hit any enemy on the screen! However, it is mediocre damage-wise, and it doesn't work with Jumpman. However, it has the novelty of being one of the few attacks that can hit any enemy on the screen, making it a good choice for a badge and an underrated one at that.
41. Refund
This badge is either worthless or extremely helpful depending on your playstyle. I'm not the biggest fan of items, but getting 75% of the price back upon use just for 1 BP can allow the player to use a whole lot of items! Overall, a really nice badge that gets more criticism than I feel it deserves.
40. HP Plus P
This could be great since it gives a total of 35 HP for 6 BP! But 6 BP is two entire levels, so this really isn't worth it especially because partners don't really need HP. So overall, if you have the BP to spare, it is awesome, but it isn't always worth it.
39. HP Plus
This is pretty much just better than upgrading HP since it can be interchanged at any time. So this is a solid badge.
38. FP Plus
This is pretty much just better than upgrading FP since it can be interchanged at any time. So this is a solid badge.
37. Hammerman
You can do a lot of fun stuff with hammers, but we all know that as a whole, Jump commands are significantly better. However, if the player does come up with a really good hammer-based setup, this badge is a must-have.
36. P Down, D Up
If your building a defensive strategy, this badge is amazing. However, since in TTYD the best defense is a good offense, so this badge is rather unneeded for most players.
35. Defend Plus
Like the last one, but doesn't sacrifice Mario's explosive strength for defense. Still quite pricey though.
34. Power Jump
This ability is a really solid badge, especially with a few of them equipped at once. It's powerful, and is especially useful during Chapter 1. However, although this badge slaps, it simply is outclassed by Sleep Stomp, Spin Jump, Spring Jump, Multibounce, and Power Bounce.
33. Power Smash
This barely beats Power Jump because it isn't outclassed by another hammer. It is also a pretty solid attack and it does quite a bit of damage. That's about it though, because there are better ways to do damage!
32. Piercing Blow
A nice defense-ignoring Hammer attack. Balanced, yes. Solid, yes. Top tier, no.
Grodus Tier
31. Heart Finder
This makes enemies drop tons of hearts, allowing Mario and his partner to stay healthy while still being able to save Star Power for attack-based Special Moves. This badge is best utilized in the Pit of 100 Trials.
30. Item Hog
This allows items to drop from enemies more often, which is very useful! This badge is best utilized in the Pit of 100 Trials.
29. Quake Hammer
This is a pretty great badge, being a pseudo-Earth Tremor that costs FP instead of Star Power. This is really good since Earth Tremor is amazing! However, since it is an imitation of Earth Tremor, it isn't a must-have badge.
28. Ice Power
Fire enemies are not very common, sure, but to be able to jump on them, take less damage from them, and deal extra damage to them? All for 1 BP? This is a steal of a badge! If only there were more fire enemies than this would be much higher on this list.
27. Pretty Lucky
Wearing two of these badges will make you evade one fifth of attacks without even needing to hit a perfect Superguard. Combine this badge with Lucky Day, Dodgy Fog or a Repel Cape, a Boo's Sheet, or Close Call and you should be able to go the entire game without upgrading your health!
26. Zap Tap
This makes you electrified, which gives a lot more perks than the game mentions! First of all, you can deal damage to enemies that hit you! Second of all, you can nullify multi target attacks! Third of all, Fuzzies and Swoopers can't damage you! Fourth of all, you can jump on electric enemies. And last of all, you can prevent Bandits from stealing from you! This is just a grab badge (see what I did... I hope you didn't because it was terrible... if you didn't get it, I meant grab bag by the way) of a badge, and it is great. However, it is a bit expensive and is a bit situational, so it couldn't go any higher on this list.
25. Timing Tutor
I simply don't understand everybody's problems with this badge—it is no doubt one of the best badges in the game for a first time player! For just 1 BP, this badge teaches the player all the button inputs needed for a Stylish Move! Once you get the hang of Stylish Moves, this badge is quite bad, but once you figure Stylish Moves out, you can easily double your Star Power gain.
24. Sleepy Stomp
This is the third best Jump attack in the game, as it inflicts one of the strongest status ailments in the game (it can work on Amayzee Dayzees!) and it is a Jump attack, not a Hammer attack. This badge is just really solid. I don't really have anything else to say except that it is really good.
Mario Tier
23. Flower Finder
This may be the weirdest placement on my list, but this badge is great! With this badge, you are able to get 3-5 FP per battle—which, if utilized correctly, can be enough to beat the next battle. This is pretty underrated, but I get why it doesn't appeal to a lot of players.
22. Power Rush P
This badge lets partners do 2 extra damage when low on health for just 1 BP. As you can probably tell, that's amazing.
21. Mega Rush
This badge is so powerful for its dirt cheap cost, but since it is kind of risky, it can't go any higher on this list!
20. Spike Shield
This allows you to utilize the Jumpman badge very well, flip Spiked Parabuzzys, and use Power Bounce on spiked enemies. What else do I have to say... Hammers kind of suck sometimes and Jump doesn't... so Spike Shield is great in making Jump even better!
19. Last Stand
Using Mario's optimal strategy (which is to only ever upgrade BP), Last Stand will help so often! A great badge overall, especially for its very cheap cost.
18. Close Call
This badge has saved me from Game Overs countless times... probably eight times in one run of the Pit of 100 Trials alone! This badge has an enormous success rate—it is almost too good to be true.
17. Damage Dodge
A really great way to prevent enemies doing damage to Mario. Enough said.
16. Power Rush
Keeping Mario in Danger is pretty risky, but not as risky as Mega Rush. Since it isn't way too risky, this is a really good badge—and an inexpensive one at that.
15. Fire Drive
By far the best Hammer attack in TTYD, it is beloved by challenge runners all over the world—and I love it too, even though I don't have time to be a challenge runner for this awesome game. This attack is very strong and it decimates enemies, especially in the Pit of 100 Trials. However, for casual players that aren't challenge runners, this badge isn't quite as good. Still really good, but not as good.
14. Double Dip P
While I'm not a huge fan of items in this game, there is no denying that this is an amazing badge—especially if you have a duplicate badge and/or the Strange Sack on your side. I just find this a little worse than the standard Double Dip badge since Mario tends to be a buffing/healing character more often than the partners do.
13. Double Dip
Same reasoning as Double Dip P, but since Mario usually buffs and heals with abilities like Power Lift and Sweet Treat, this badge triumphs over Double Dip P.
12. Multibounce
A powerful and amazing and very inexpensive Jump command; possibly the most usable and cheap multi-target command in the game in terms of BP and FP. Overall, the second best Jump command in the game and one of the best badges in the game.
11. Power Plus
It raises Mario's Attack Power by 1. It's great—and you know it.
10. P Up, D Down
The optimal strategy for Mario is pretty much to always get BP, so lowering Mario's Defense isn't the best idea since the player will probably have a low health pool. However, this badge is still amazing. As I've reiterated many times, a good offense trumps a good defense in this game.
9. Flower Saver
This is a really good badge and it saves a ton of FP! With two of these badges, you can make almost every one of Mario's attacks just 1 or 2 FP to use, and because of that, this badge is kind of broken.
8. Power Plus P
Even more overpowered than Power Plus since it applies to every partner attack in the game. It's great—and you know it!
7. Jumpman
It is really easy to get the benefits of this badge since Jump is far superior to Hammer and this badge only costs 2 BP. With Spike Shield, Mario can do a ton of great damage using this badge. Overall, a fantastic but slightly limiting badge.
6. All or Nothing
This badge is amazing. For just 4 BP and a little bit of skill, Mario AND his partners gain one Attack Point. A top tier badge for sure!
5. Mega Rush P
Geez is this an amazing badge! The Peril Partner tactic has to be the most broken tactic in the game! But outside of that? No. But this still slaps so hard when utilized well that it cracked my top 5.
4. Flower Saver P
To be honest, Mario doesn't have as many useful abilities as the partners do. And this applies to all seven partners! So I believe this is a whole lot better than its counterpart and one of the best badges in the entire TTYD.
3. P Up, D Down P
Partners do not need defense, so gaining an extra Attack Point for only 2 BP is absolutely amazing. This badge is easily the best attack buffing badge in the game, it is just utterly amazing.
Flavio Tier
2. Quick Change
This badge costs a whole lot at 7 BP, but there is no badge in the game that I like more than this badge! This allows you to swap out partners at any time, so you can utilize any attack you would like at any time! Also, even after a partner took their turn, you can swap out your current partner with another partner! The implications of this are insane—you can have one partner on Peril to utilize the Partner Peril technique and swap out that partner with a tank like Bobbery or Flurrie before the enemy gets a chance to attack the partner utilizing the Peril Partner technique! That was a mouthful, but truly, this badge is amazing. Go try it out for yourself and prove me wrong—I'm telling you, it'll be hard to come up with an argument for why this badge is not worth equipping.
1. Power Bounce
This badge literally allows you to do significantly more damage than anything else in the game, with Multibonk being the only thing that comes close. This ability, in combination with attack-buffing badges and abilities, can easily hit upwards of 40-50 damage, and with a really overpowered strategy, I'm sure it would be possible to kill Bonetail in one turn. Seriously, this badge is too good for its own right—and it is only 3 BP. What the crap! And you get it in the first chapter... overall, there is no denying that this is the best badge in the game.
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