Sylvia (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)

Sylvia
Sprite from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Species	Bob-omb
First appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)

“Yes, they seek to buy it…yet how can one appraise what the eye cannot perceive?”

—Sylvia, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Sylvia is a minor character encountered during the events of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The wife of Goldbob, the president of Goldbobbington's, and mother of Bub, she lives with her family in Poshley Heights, though they are seen traveling throughout the game.

History

Mario and his party first meet Sylvia in Glitzville outside the Glitz Pit while she and her family are vacationing there. She shows a disdain for the combat sports in the Glitz Pit, going as far as to call them "barbarous". As Mario, under the alias of the "Great Gonzales", raises in ranks, however, she admits that her son might benefit from knowing how to fight for self-defense purposes and starts looking for a fighting tutor. She even offers Mario this position after he became champion, although the player is unable to accept her offer.

Mario meets Sylvia again in Chapter 6 on the Excess Express as she and her family return to their home in Poshley Heights. Goldbob and Sylvia argue over what to get Bub for his birthday, with Goldbob wanting a house or a car to flaunt the family's wealth and Sylvia wanting to get him study materials to prepare him for the future. Their arguing seems of little concern to Bub, who actually just wants an autograph of the Excess Express engineer. The argument is so loud that the Excess Express conductor can hear them from outside their room. The following day, Goldbob apologizes to Mario for seeing him and his wife when they "weren't at their best". Sylvia expresses happiness that Bub is in much higher spirits after receiving the autograph and thanks Mario for giving it to him. Sylvia then remains in her cabin while the rest of her family disembarks for a walk outside during the train's stop at Riverside Station.

At the start of the third day, Sylvia, along with her family and the other passengers and staff, goes missing, being absorbed into a hoard of Smorgs that attacks the train. Mario eventually defeats the Smorgs, causing them to blow away in the wind. After the incident, Sylvia and her family safely arrive in Poshley Heights. When Bowser and Kammy Koopa arrive in Poshely Heights, Bowser can optionally talk to Goldbob and Sylvia, who are only interested in discussing the fountain outside of Poshley Sanctum. Bewildered by their interest in the fountain, Bowser says they scare him and moves on.

Sylvia joins others in Poshley Heights to lend support to Mario in the remake

Later, Bub gets into an argument with Sylvia for not doing his homework. To apologize for the argument, he posts a trouble at the Trouble Center. The trouble requests either Mushroom Cake, Keel Mango, or Fright Mask to present to Sylvia as a gift. If Mario chooses Mushroom Cake, he will need Zess T. to mix a Mushroom with a Cake Mix, which can be bought from Pianta Parlor, to make one. After delivering the item to Bub, he makes a present out of the item, writes a letter, and asks Mario to deliver the present and letter to Sylvia. When Mario delivers the letter, Sylvia is so moved by it that she cries tears of joy and explains she was never angry at him; she was only being stern because she loves him and cares about his future. For solving the trouble, Bub rewards Mario with three Coins, which he says are his "entire fortune".

During Mario's battle against the Shadow Queen, Sylvia, her family, residents of Poshley Heights, and, in the remake, staff from the Excess Express gather outside of Poshley Sanctum to shout support into the Garnet Star to empower Mario and his partners.

Tattle information

• "That's Sylvia the Bob-omb. She's super-wealthy. She's got a real high-society air around her... Even her perfume smells like money."

Gallery

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  Concept art of the Excess Express passengers and staff, including Sylvia and her family

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	シルビア[?] Shirubia	Sylvia; possibly from a partial homophone of「シルバー」(shirubā, "silver")
Chinese (simplified)	希尔维亚[?] Xīěrwéiyǎ	Sylvia
Chinese (traditional)	希爾維亞[?] Xīěrwéiyǎ	Sylvia
French	Argelle[?]	From argent ("silver", but also means "money") and possibly the name "Belle"
German	Silbia[?]	Silber ("silver") and the name "Sylvia"
Italian	Bomb-oniera[?]	Pun on "Bob-omb" and bomboniera ("wedding favor")
Korean	실비아[?] Silbia	Sylvia
Spanish (NOA)	Silvia[?]	Sylvia
Spanish (NOE)	Bombowitz[?]	Play on bomba ("bomb") and "Koplowitz" (the surname of two famous Spanish millionaire sisters)

Trivia

• In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door's end credits parade, Sylvia's silhouette can be seen with the Poshley Heights characters.
  • In the remake, Bub runs across the stage gleefully holding the autograph while Goldbob and Sylvia walk behind him, followed by the Bob-ombs from Fahr Outpost.