Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door Shine Sprites Locations Complete Guide

Every corner of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door hides a sparkling secret-Shine Sprites, the elusive collectibles essential for unlocking your partners’ true power. With 42 scattered across the game’s whimsical world, only the most observant adventurers will uncover them all and fully upgrade their team. Ready to hunt down every last Shine Sprite and unleash your party’s full potential? Here’s where your search begins.

These collectables are often hiding in plain sight inside of a box to hit (as seen in the screenshot at the top of this guide), but some of them can be a little tricky to find. There are 42 Shine Sprites total in the game, and you’ll be able to find them all by the time you’re about halfway through Chapter 7.

Below, we explain what to use Shine Sprites for and where to find all 42 Shrine Sprites in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

What to use Shine Sprites for in Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door

Shine Sprites in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door are special collectibles used exclusively to upgrade Mario’s partners. By collecting Shine Sprites scattered throughout the game, you can visit Merlon in east Rogueport, who will power up your partners in exchange for three Shine Sprites per upgrade. Each upgrade increases a partner’s maximum HP, boosts their attack power, and unlocks a new special move, making them much more effective in battles. Every partner can be upgraded twice, and with seven partners in the game, all 42 Shine Sprites are needed to fully power up your team.

Merlon, a wizard who lives next door to Professor Frankly, will beef up your partners in return for three Shine Sprites each. Every time you power them up, they’ll learn a new FP ability, gain more max HP, and deal a bit more damage, making these collectables pretty important.

There are enough Shine Sprites to max out every character (even the optional Ms. Mowz). Each character gets upgraded twice, though you’ll need to help Merlon find a missing item in order to unlock the second upgrades.

Where to find Shine Sprites in Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door

Shine Sprites in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door are scattered across the game’s diverse regions, with a total of 42 to collect throughout your adventure. You’ll find these glowing collectibles in key locations such as Hooktail Castle, Rogueport Sewers, the Great Tree, Glitzville, Keelhaul Key, Pirate’s Grotto, Excess Express, Poshley Heights, Fahr Outpost, and more. Each area typically hides several Shine Sprites, often tucked away in hard-to-reach spots, behind puzzles, or as rewards for completing certain tasks. Early examples include Shine Sprites in Hooktail Castle-like one in the room where you meet Ms. Mowz-and in the Rogueport Sewers, on a ledge near the Thousand-Year Door. As you progress through each chapter, keep an eye out for hidden blocks, secret rooms, and platforming challenges, as these often lead to Shine Sprite locations. Collecting them all is essential for powering up your partners at Merlon’s house in Rogueport.

We list all of the Shine Sprites locations based on how early you can find them. That said, you should be able to have our list next to you as you play, just running down chapter-by-chapter to help you find all 42 Shine Sprites.

In general, just look out for these boxes as you walk around. Most of them will be hanging out in plain sight, but some of them are tucked away behind decor or other objects.

You can also check the percentage of Shine Sprites you have in each area via your in-game map.

If you’re stuck, Merluvlee, who lives in the house next to Dazzle in the Rogueport sewers, will give you hints about where to find any remaining sprites on the map, though you can also refer to our list below, which covers all Shrine Sprites and their locations in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

All Shine Sprite locations in Paper Mario: TTYD

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door features a total of 42 Shine Sprites hidden throughout its world, serving as a key collectible for upgrading your party members. Shine Sprites are scattered across major locations and chapters, including Hooktail Castle, Rogueport Sewers, Glitzville, Keelhaul Key, Pirate’s Grotto, Excess Express, Poshley Heights, and Fahr Outpost, with each area containing multiple sprites to discover. Some Shine Sprites are in plain sight, while others require solving puzzles or returning with new abilities, such as the Spring Jump or Boat Mode, to access hidden rooms or high ledges. Collecting all Shine Sprites not only powers up your partners via Merlon in Rogueport but also unlocks special rewards in the Nintendo Switch remake, such as the Sound Gallery for each chapter. For a complete breakdown of every Shine Sprite’s location by chapter and detailed instructions, consult comprehensive guides or in-game hints from characters like Merluvlee.

#	Chapter	Area	Location
1	Chapter 1	Hooktail Castle (First Floor)	In plain sight after you defeat the pink dry bones.
2	Chapter 1	Hooktail Castle (Third Floor)	In the treasure room where you first meet Ms. Mowz.
3	Chapter 1	Hooktail Castle (Grand Staircase)	At the very top of the stairs before the door with the blue lock.
4	Chapter 1	Rogueport (Sublevel Three)	In the room with the Thousand-Year Door, use ZR to slip through the fencing and jump on the spring. Fly across using the airplane to get a sprite
5	Chapter 2	Boggly Woods	Use Koops to hit the Shine Sprite block at the top of the silver pipe.
6	Chapter 2	The Great Tree (First Floor)	In the room with the second Puni switch, jump down to see the Shine Sprite on the right.
7	Chapter 2	The Great Tree (Sublevel One)	Once you use Flurrie to blow the structure off the airplane platform, glide straight to the right on to another platform. Then glide to the left to this Shine Sprite.
8	Chapter 2	The Great Tree (Sublevel Two)	After getting the Super Boots, use the Spin Jump ability on the panel on the floor right outside of where you got the boots. Jump on the paltforms to get the Shine Sprite.
9	Chapter 2	The Great Tree (Sublevel Four)	After draining the water in the tree, hit the Shine Sprite block from a lilypad.
10	Chapter 3	Glitzville	Between the juice bar and the Glitz Pit. Use Koops’ shell to hit an invisible block under to make it reachable.
11	Chapter 3	Glitz Pit	At the top of the stairs in the Glitz Pit storage room.
12	Chapter 3	Rogueport (East)	On the roof of the far building in the background. Use Yoshi’s flutter jump to jump in front of the skull bridge, head up to the area with the boxes, and flutter jump to the roof. Walk back behind the chimney to get to the roof with the sprite.
13	Chapter 3	Rogueport (East)	Use ZR to slip through the crack next to the Trouble Center to go to an alleyway. Use Yoshi’s flutter jump to cross the water to get to this sprite.
14	Chapter 3	Rogueport (Sublevel Two)	Behind the yellow block in the fast travel pipe room. (You need the Super Hammer to smash the yellow block.)
15	Chapter 3	Rogueport (Sublevel One)	Drop into the sewers from the west side using ZR and then use Yoshi’s flutter jump to reach the platform on the left.
16	Chapter 4	Twilight Trail	Jump behind the next tree after jumping out of the hole from the background.
17	Chapter 4	Creepy Steeple	Spin Jump on top of the well in front of the Creepy Steeple and jump down.
18	Chapter 4	Creepy Steeple	In the treasure room you need to paper roll into from the entrance.
19	Chapter 4	Creepy Steeple (Sublevel One)	In the well room with the save block. (You need Vivian in your party to get here.)
20	Chapter 4	Rogueport (West)	Roll into the crevice in the first house on the right’s upper floor.
21	Chapter 4	Rogueport (East)	In the back room of Captain Bobbery’s house.
22	Chapter 5	Keelhaul Key	Towards the top of the platforming area of the jungle.
23	Chapter 5	Keelhaul Key	On the right side of the bridge.
24	Chapter 5	Pirate’s Grotto	At the top of the half sinking boat.
25	Chapter 5	Pirate’s Grotto	At the top of the cliff with the heal and save block with the locked door. You need to hit a hidden block under it to reach it.
26	Chapter 5	Pirate’s Grotto	On top of the barrels in the room with the lift and Grotto Key. You’ll need to time Koops’ shell and jump on to the box from the lift, and then jump to the barrels.
27	Chapter 5	Pirate’s Grotto	By the cliffside with the rolling waves. Use Koops’ shell to grab it.
28	Chapter 5	Pirate’s Grotto	In the room with the floating barrels. Use your hammer to reveal a hidden block under it to reach it.
29	Chapter 5	Rogueport (West)	Blow up the wall all the way to the west using Bobbery
30	Chapter 5	Rogueport (Sublevel One)	Use boat form in the room with the warp pipe that takes you to Petalburg.
31-32	Chapter 5	Rogueport (Sublevel Two)	In a secret room accessible only by boat. From the western side of the sewers, enter the alcove with the pipe and head left to get on the boat platform. Ride the boat straight through the water to get to this room. (The third sprite requires a further upgrade, so ignore it for now.)
33	Chapter 6	Excess Express (Car Two)	Inside the train car at the beginning of the chapter.
34	Chapter 6	Excess Express (Car Four)	A reward from the Bob-omb family after giving the son the conductor’s autograph.
35	Chapter 6	Riverside Station (Deck)	By the stairs on the floor.
36	Chapter 6	Riverside Station (Records Room)	At the top of the stairs. Use Koops’ shell to reach it.
37	Chapter 6	Poshley Heights	Outside the sanctum on the right. Super Jump to grab it.
38	Chapter 6	Poshley Sanctum	On the left ledge in the front of the secret room the Crystal Star is in.
39	Chapter 6	Rogueport (Sublevel Two)	In the same secret room as #31-32, but now you can Spring Jump to reach it.
40	Chapter 6	Rogueport (Sublevel One)	On top of the pillar behind Dazzle. Access the pillar by using your Spring Jump behind the elevator platform in the town area of the sewers where the water is dripping.
41	Chapter 7	Path to Fahr Outpost	Behind a tree on the left side of the map.
42	Chapter 7	Fahr Outpost	Next to the building on the east side of the outpost.

Where are the hidden Shine Sprites located in Petal Meadows and Twilight Town

Hidden Shine Sprite Locations in Petal Meadows and Twilight Town

Petal Meadows:

The primary Shine Sprite associated with Petal Meadows is actually found in the Rogueport Sewers, in the room with the pipes leading to Petal Meadows and Boggly Woods. To access it, hammer the large yellow block in this pipe room to reveal the Shine Sprite.
There is no direct mention of additional hidden Shine Sprites specifically within the open fields of Petal Meadows itself in the latest guides. Most Shine Sprites in Chapter 1 are located in Hooktail Castle rather than the meadows.

Twilight Town:

The Shine Sprite for Twilight Town is located on the Twilight Trail, the path leading from Twilight Town to Creepy Steeple. It is hidden behind the last tree on the path to Creepy Steeple in the second forest section of Twilight Trail.
Additional Shine Sprites in Chapter 4 can be found in Creepy Steeple:
- In the southwest corner down the well outside Creepy Steeple.
- In the treasure room north of the entrance of Creepy Steeple.
- Next to the save block in the small room halfway from the outside well to Creepy Steeple.

These are the key hidden Shine Sprite locations you’ll want to check in Petal Meadows (via the sewers) and Twilight Town (along the Twilight Trail and in Creepy Steeple).

Where exactly is the Candy Pop Shine Sprite in Petal Meadows located

The Candy Pop Shine Sprite in Petal Meadows is located at the very end of the second screen of Petal Meadows, right next to the tall warp pipe. This is the area you reach shortly after entering Petal Meadows, just before you would move on to the next screen or area.