Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam was the last Mario & Luigi game (that wasn’t a remake) that released on the 3DS. This game threw Paper Mario into the fray when his world mixed with the real Mario and Luigi’s world.
For the first time, battles consisted of using three players, finally giving us a reason to use the Y button. With the addition of the Trio Attacks, paper and reality became one, allowing the three of them to inflict massive damage to their enemies. However, this is also true for their foes, and here are the ten hardest instances of that.
10 Big Pokey & Paper Power Pokey
This Pokey duo will attack in similar forms, able to do damage to all the Bros with their attacks. They can roll forward and back, hitting all the Bros at once unless you time their jumps. This was much easier for Paper Mario because of his ability to float in the air to prolong his jump.
As you deal damage to each one, they lose segments of their bodies to make them weaker, but they will come back after a while. When one is defeated, the other that is left will become enraged, increasing its attack power.
9 Wiggler & Kamek
In this fight, Wiggler has been enraged by Paper Kamek and is forced to attack the trio. It will chase one of the Bros around, trying to trample them, while Paper Kamek attacks at the end of the attack. It can also summon shockwaves and spit seeds that need to be jumped over.
Paper Kamek can also summon shapes to try to hit each of them, but when deflected by the hammer, they will hit Wiggler and force it to attack Paper Kamek. When Wiggler’s energy runs out, Paper Kamek will come out further to be hit, using more magic attacks while Wiggler rests. Bomb Derby and Trio Kite are the best moves to use against both Wiggler and Kamek.
8 King Boo
King Boo will kidnap Paper Mario at the start of this fight, threatening to hurt him if they attack him. His crown also counts as a spiked helmet, rendering jumping and certain special moves useless in hitting him. You’ll have to attack the minion holding Paper Mario to rescue him and begin being able to deal damage to King Boo.
King Boo will spit fireballs, which will do more damage to Paper Mario rather than Mario and Luigi. At one point, he’ll grow large and try to charge a giant fireball, in which Mario and Luigi will need to throw Paper Mario’s boomerang form into his mouth to stop him. The Dropchopper is one of the better moves to use against him, bypassing his spiked head restriction.
7 Charging Chuck Corp
These Koopas get the upper hand on the trio once, but the second time is the charm, as they always say. They will attack with tackles, surrounding the trio and charging, needing to be jumped over to dodge. They can also call for backup when some are defeated, meaning that you’ll want to take them all out in one blow.
They also have an attack where they hold up a football and shuffle around, requiring the player to keep track of which ones are holding a football to be ready to counter-attack. After constantly being taken out, they will become enraged and stop calling for backup, making them easier to widdle down and defeat. Cannonball Chuck and Trio Whirligig are the best moves to take these guys down.
6 Wendy & Roy
This dysfunctional pair is the first Koopaling duo that fights the trio, using team attacks different from previous fights against them individually in other games. Roy will go into his shell and toss Wendy towards them, or, especially if alone, Roy will use a boulder move where he tosses it, allowing each bro to hit it back and forth with him.
Succeeding to beat Roy in this back and forth will cause a piece to break off, hitting Wendy and causing them to fight, dealing damage to Roy. Wendy will attack with magic rings that need to be jumped over. Focusing down Roy is the best bet since he does and takes the most damage, especially with Wendy attacking him as well.
5 Bowser Jr & Paper Bowser Jr.
The Bowser offspring duo attacks in tandem to deal with the trio. They will usually telegraph their attacks prior to ramming into one of the Bros. They can also challenge the Bros to a contest using their paper partners to see who has the best paper airplane.
Winning will cause the Koopa duo to take damage but losing will cause the same to happen to the Bros. The hardest thing about the fight is that they will heal each other periodically, even reviving a fallen partner after a couple of turns. Balance your attacks between them both so you won’t have to deal with a full health bar while the other is down.
4 King Bob-omb
The King of Bob-ombs will fight the trio with a bit of a gimmick, using a time limit to make things harder for the player. It will start at four minutes, and if it reaches zero, he will explode and deal massive damage to the three Bros. If you manage to survive, which is unlikely, you won’t get experience or coins for the battle either, so you’ll want to fight to win.
The best way to ensure victory is to counter his red bomb attack with the hammer counterattack. Successfully doing that will increase his timer, prolonging the time it takes for him to explode. The best attacks to deal damage are the Cannonball Chuck and the Drill Shell, along with the Trio Kite.
3 Ludwig & Lemmy
This unique battle gives Ludwig and Lemmy the ability to use Battle Cards, similar to Mario and the others. They have abilities such as raising speed and power, as well as dealing a set amount of damage to the trio. But the only way they can use these cards is to deal damage to the Bros, so that is the goal of the battle: Don’t get hit.
In the second iteration of this battle, Ludwig and Lemmy gain more abilities to use with Dark Star Points, such as shrinking the trio, healing, and dealing more damage. The best way to fight them is to focus on one, similar to Roy and Wendy. Doing this will eventually defeat one of them, forcing them to attack by themselves, but stopping the gain of Star Points. Lemmy is the best one to focus on.
2 Bowser & Paper Bowser
This is the final boss of the game; a fight between the Mario Bros’ and Paper Mario's enemies. Before their fusion, they only have two attacks, one being fire breath that must be jumped over, especially by Paper Mario, and iron balls that will target the trio depending on who threw them. After taking enough damage, they will fuse into Shiny RoboBowser, the final form the Bros will need to take down. He has a variety of different attacks, including his own version of Trio attacks.
While his helmet is on, you cannot use Trio attacks, and he will counter yours with his, making you have to dodge fire and body slams. However, while he has the helmet on, fire attacks cause critical damage to him, making Rocket Blast and Fire Flower good attacks to use to wear down his armor.
1 Dry Bowser
Dry Bowser, similar to Bowser X, is the final fight in the Battle Ring, becoming the strongest boss in the game. He can throw bones and inhale members of the trio, healing himself. His most important attack is his Thwomp move, where he summons Thwomps to slam onto the trio. However, if successfully countered, this will instead harm him, allowing for critical damage.
Another thing that makes it difficult is Dry Bowser's ability to summon pairs of the Koopalings you’ve fought before. Even if the boss is defeated, you’ll have to beat the Koopalings to win as well. While previous advice is to single out one of the Koopalings, the best strategy is to focus more on Dry Bowser, since he does the most damage. Trio Whirligig is also good for doing massive damage to all of them.