Palace of Shadow Tower
The Palace of Shadow Tower, unnamed in the Nintendo GameCube version, is a circular tower in the Palace of Shadow in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The tower is in the center of a large open plaza surrounded by streams. Inside is a spiral staircase with several doors on each floor. Mario has to solve the riddles in each room to earn a Palace Key. The pedestals to the keys appear later after Mario obtains the Star Stone from Gloomtail's room.
At the top of the tower is a large orrery. A lock is there for the Star Stone, which will in turn make the locks for the Palace Keys appear. When all eight Palace Keys are inserted, the large model in the center begins to move, lowering the hallway before Gloomtail's room and revealing the next stage of the Palace of Shadow. Mario must fight Beldam, Marilyn, and Doopliss outside in the plaza before being able to access this new area.
In the Nintendo Switch remake, the riddle rooms are unlocked only after Gloomtail's Star Stone is used.
The Riddle Rooms
Northwest room, first floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| Four stones, twin stones... | Master of shadow, queen of fear |
| Master of Shadow and Dark... | Four stones, twin rooms... |
| Two are one, one is two... | |
There are four blocks here: two Stone Blocks and two unbreakable Metal Blocks. The metal ones can be broken by breaking the Stone Blocks in the room directly above this one.
Northeast room, first floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| All you see isn't all there be... | Stones to rival the celestial spheres |
| Stones Have Power of Stars... | All you see isn't all there be... |
| Touch it to pass through it... | |
This is an empty room. Mario can pass through the wall, revealing a room with a switch. Hitting the ! Block there makes a chest appear in the first room.
Southwest room, first floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| Beyond, beyond, beyond... | The seven hewn by a fell hand |
| Complete All Seven... | Onward, onward, onward... |
| Before, before... | Retreat, retreat... |
This room has two ! Blocks. "Beyond/Onward" refers to the ! Block on the left side of the room; "before/retreat" refers to the right ! Block. The blocks have to be hit in this order: left, left, left, right, right.
Southeast room, first floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| The unseen may yet be felt... | Feared far and wide across the land |
| So That We, the Great Ones... | The unseen may yet be felt... |
| Be it here? Be it there? | |
There is an invisible object in the middle of the room, and Mario cannot walk through the object. Flurrie can blow it away to reveal another chest.
Northwest room, second floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| Four stones, twin stones... | By skill and might, engraved in stone. |
| Can Live Again by the Stone... | Four stones, twin rooms... |
| Two are one, one is two... | |
There are four blocks in this room: two stone ones and two unbreakable metal ones. The metal ones can be broken by breaking the Stone Blocks in the room directly underneath this one.
Northeast room, second floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| Straight on, straight onward... | Carrying secrets from on high |
| We Know the Stars Spurn Us... | Straight on, straight onward... |
| Destroy all in your path... | Destroy what lies in your path... |
This is another empty room. The part of the wall directly opposite the door can be blown up using Admiral Bobbery's Bomb attack, revealing another room.
Southwest room, second floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| Let fall the weakest... | Carrying the lore of the sky |
| And That the Skies Lie... | Let fall the weakest... |
| Then build to the strongest... | |
One of each member of the Bones Family is in the room. The player must beat the members in this order: Dull Bones, Red Bones, Dry Bones, Dark Bones.
Southeast room, second floor
| GameCube | Switch |
|---|---|
| The shy one hides his shape... | The stars up in the heavens shone |
| But the Stars Bring Balance. | The shy one hides their shape... |
| The shy one hides his face... | The shy one hides their face... |
The room appears empty, but using Vivian to hide in the shadows makes a ! Block appear.
The Hidden Message
Each room contains a plaque with a three-line riddle on it. The first and third lines in the GameCube version are the riddles themselves, while the second line of each riddle is part of a hidden message. In the Nintendo Switch remake, the message is on the top line, while the riddles are on the middle and third lines. No one knows for certain the correct order of these lines from the GameCube version, but they seem to make the most sense in the following order. It is most likely that the "stones with the power of stars" are the Crystal Stars and that the "we" is the Shadow Queen's race.
- Complete All Seven...
- So That We, the Great Ones...
- Master of Shadow and Dark...
- Can Live Again by the Stone...
- Stones Have Power of Stars...
- We Know the Stars Spurn Us...
- And That the Skies Lie...
- But the Stars Bring Balance.
In the Nintendo Switch remake, the messages have been altered. Upon Mario using Tower Keys on all eight of the pedestals, the hidden messages are displayed on the screen, arranged in the following order:
- The stars up in the heavens shone
- Carrying the lore of the sky
- Carrying secrets from on high
- By skill and might, engraved in stone.
- Stones to rival the celestial spheres
- The seven hewn by a fell hand
- Feared far and wide across the land
- Master of shadow, queen of fear.
Messages in other languages
- Japanese:
天 より あつる星 のおかがやき天 の ことわりを しり星 の ことわりを しり
ワザを もって石 に やどす星 のチカラが やどりし石 を
7つ すべてを つくりしは
おお いだいなる われらが
ヤミと カゲの あるじよ - Chinese (simplified):
从天而降的星光
精通苍天之律
知晓繁星之理
以奇技封入石中
寄宿着星之力量的石头
将其共造7颗之人
啊，我等伟大的
暗影之主啊 - Chinese (traditional):
從天而降的星光
精通蒼天之律
知曉繁星之理
以奇技封入石中
寄宿著星之力量的石頭
將其共造7顆之人
啊，我等偉大的
暗影之主啊
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | やみのきゅうでん とう[?] Yami no Kyūden Tō |
Palace of Shadow Tower | |
| Korean | 어둠 궁전 탑[?] Eodum Gungjeon Tap |
Palace of Shadow: Tower | |
| Spanish | La Torre de los Enigmas[citation needed] Torre del palacio |
The Tower of Riddles Palace tower |
Trivia
- The track that plays inside the tower bears similarities to the track from the Pit of 100 Trials.
