Board 8 > Is Paper Mario a distinct character in an alternate universe to 'real' Mario?

(+) Yeah! (+)

In the first game, the paper thing was pretty much just a visual style. TTYD and Super added gameplay elements that played on characters being 2D, but everyone still talked as if they were their normal selves. Then Sticker Star and Color Splash had characters openly talking about being made of paper, covered in paint etc, and finally Paper Mario crossed over into the Mario & Luigi series alongside the 'real' Mario. I haven't played Paper Jam yet, so I don't know if they treat it as two time-shifted versions of the same person like in M&L PiT ("Hey, Mario, remember that time you were made of paper? That was weird"), or a doppelganger from a flat universe.
---

please consult the mario timeline


---

I guess technically they might be, but I don't consider them separate characters.
---

Mario, Zelda, and Sonic characters are kind of like Biblical characters in that they don't really "exist" even in their own universes and they're mostly just motifs to base games on. Paper Mario is distinct from regular Mario in terms of his appearance and abilities and personality and the overall tone of his games.
---