Shine Sprites are just a few of the collectible items players will find in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. When a Shine Sprite is acquired, the game doesn't immediately tell the player how to use it but hints that these mysterious items will be of great help.

Although one Shine Sprite on its own won't do much, players will want to find as many as they can to make their team as powerful as possible.

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What are Shine Sprites in Paper Mario: TTYD?

Shine Sprites are a set of finite collectibles in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door scattered across the world. There are a total of 42 Shine Sprites for players to locate, and although some are hidden in tricky areas, many are essentially handed to players as they progress through the game. The Shine Sprites players have collected can be tracked in the main menu, where the game will also describe how to put them to use.

What are they used for?

Although Mario can level-up steadily through combat, the partners that join his party won't reap any of the rewards from battle. That's where the Shine Sprites come into play! By collecting enough Shine Sprites, players can upgrade their partners with increased attack, HP, and a new move. A total of 3 Shine Sprites are required for each partner rank-up, and by collecting them all, each of Mario's seven partners in the game will be able to rank-up twice.

How to Rank-Up Partners with Shine Sprites

In order for players to use their earned Shine Sprites and rank-up their partners, they'll first have to seek out Merlon, the super magician. For 3 Shine Sprites, he has the ability to power-up one of Mario's partners to the next rank.

Luckily, Merlon's house is incredibly easy to locate. It is marked with a sign bearing a Shine Sprite and is found directly adjacent to Professor Frankly's lab in the eastern part of Rogueport.

Inside, players can speak to Merlon to rank-up their partners if they have collected enough Shine Sprites. They'll be presented with a menu describing the new move each partner gets upon ranking up. For example, when advancing to Super Rank, Goombella gains the Multibonk move and Koops gains Shell Shield. In addition to this move, each time a partner ranks, they increase their attack by one and grow their maximum HP. There are enough Shine Sprites in the game to max out each partner's rank, so all of them have the ability to reach their full potential.

Where to Get More Shine Sprites

There are a set number of Shine Sprites in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, so players are unable to grind them out at a specific location. However, an in-game character named Merluvlee is able to tell Mario where to find any Shine Sprites (among other things) that he may have missed along his journey.

As shown in the video above, players can find Merluvlee's house by entering the Rogueport Sewers via the east side pipe.

For a nominal fee, Merluvlee can tell players where to find any Star Pieces or Shine Sprites, or even direct players toward the next part of their journey. After paying the price, Merluvlee will attempt to visualize the location of the Shrine Sprite and communicate it to Mario as specifically as she can.

However, not all Shine Sprites are accessible to players right away. If players have already collected all the Shine Sprites they can, Merluvlee will apologize and return the coins. More possibilities will open up as players gain more powers, partners, and locations to explore.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2024)

Franchise

Paper Mario

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

May 23, 2024

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Genre(s)

RPG

ESRB

E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes

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See at Nintendo