Super Paper Mario: 10 Things About Dimentio That Make No Sense

Super Paper Mario is perhaps the most underrated game in the Paper Mario series. While it doesn’t have the standard RPG gameplay that the series is known for, it certainly makes up for it with a wonderful story and a colorful cast of characters.

However, standing out the most among the cast is Dimentio, the game’s villainous jester. Best known for his constant smile, amusing similes, and his ability to bend dimensions, Dimentio plays both sides of good and evil throughout the game to fulfill his goals. Despite the jester’s manipulative ways, there are a few things about him that just don’t add up.

10 The Clones In Castle Bleck

In the game’s penultimate level, Chapter 8-3, there is a Window Room full of nothing but Dimentio clones. These clones move about aimlessly and they’re pretty harmless for the most part. They just have a strong habit of getting in your way. Only by flipping to 3-D can one successfully maneuver past these clones.

Still, there are a few questions about the clones that linger. Why did Dimentio create the clones? How many clones in total did he make? What was the purpose of putting them all inside one spacious room? Dimentio himself never explains at the end of the level before you fight him, but the answers are up for the player to find out themselves.

9 Sending Mario And Friends To The Underwhere

A defining moment in Super Paper Mario is when Dimentio visits Mario, Peach, and Bowser … and kills all three. After encasing the three heroes inside a barrier, Dimentio triggered a few explosions to finish them off with just a snap of his fingers. This deadly act sent the heroes to the Underwhere – which is more or less the afterlife of the Paper Mario universe.

Still, it brings to question how Dimentio was able to kill off the protagonists so effectively. His dastardly move sent the heroes to the Underwhere, in a world where one of the Pure Hearts resided. Of course, killing Mario and the others was part of his diabolical plan, but his method of sending them to the Underwhere, specifically, makes one wonder.

8 A Strange License To Kill (Or Not Kill)

Dimentio first kills off Luigi (when he was brainwashed as Mr. L) in the World of Nothing, sending him to the Underwhere as a means to advance his plans. He would repeat this in Chapter 8-3 after he encases Luigi and himself inside a magic barrier before setting off the explosions. One might think that by trapping himself in the barrier, Dimentio killed himself off with Luigi, right?

Well, that didn’t seem to be the case. Dimentio survived and waited it out until Mario defeated the game’s central villain, Count Bleck. Meanwhile, Luigi was out cold until he was discovered by Peach. So how was Dimentio able to “kill” Luigi and send him to the Underwhere, but send him elsewhere in Count Bleck when repeating the same explosion act?

7 The Odd Use of Teleportation

Aside from manipulating dimensions, Dimentio also has the ability to teleport himself … and others. The first instance of Dimentio teleporting someone is after Chapter 1 when he teleports Peach to Flipside so she can meet up with Mario. It should be noted that in the cutscene where this event takes place, Dimentio is nowhere to be seen.

Near the end of the game, Dimentio teleports Mario through several dimensions. He has Mario chase him down through every dimension he’s visited in the game, before ending what he calls the “magic tag” at Count Bleck. The limitations of Dimentio’s teleportation powers are never explored, and it only raises the question of just how powerful Dimentio truly is.

6 A Certain Acquaintance

During the events of Chapter 5, Dimentio visits the Land of the Cragnoons to acquire two Floro Spouts. He plants one of these spouts in Luigi, so he can revert him into Mr. L and fuse with him and the Chaos Heart to create Super Dimentio.

As stated by Dimentio, he receives the Floro Spouts from someone that he considers an “acquaintance.” But the question is, who exactly is this acquaintance? All signs point to it being King Croacus IV, ruler of the Floro Sapiens. While this may be the case, it is never explained how Croacus and Dimentio ever get acquainted, or if Croacus knows of Dimentio’s master plan.

5 The Dark Prognosticus

The Dark Prognosticus is a key artifact in Super Paper Mario, a book that mainly prophesizes the game’s events. While the identity of the writer is shrouded in mystery, one person has been implied to have written the book. And who is that person? Dimentio.

Carson, a bartender running a coffee shop in the game’s hub world, tells the player a very brief story about Dimentio. He says that Count Bleck was originally hesitant to let Dimentio join his pact until he saw a description akin to the jester in the Prognosticus. Carson mentions that Dimentio being in the Dark Prognosticus sounded “fishy,” which only adds to Dimentio’s mysterious allure.

4 The Use Of Similes

There is no denying that Dimentio has a proficient use of similes. It’s a kind of mastery that adds a dimension to his charming character. And while his similes are fun, some of them make no sense.

Take, for instance, this simile Dimentio says before the player fights him in Chapter 3-3: “Now we must duel, like two gleaming banjos on a moonlit stoop,” which sounds a bit strange and oddly specific. Other times, Dimentio references tiny, angry road workers with tiny jackhammers or hairy Vikings on a “stormed-tossed schooner.” While some of the similes sound fairly normal, others are just plain wacky.

3 A Past That Is Not Too Clear

Several clues about Dimentio’s appear throughout the game, but none of them have clearly painted what Dimentio exactly did before the events of Super Paper Mario. One of the Card Descriptions for Dimentio suggests that the jester used to work as a mercenary. Carson even implies as much.

But on the other hand, Carson also insinuates that Dimentio is a descendant or is related to the magician who created the Pixls – the fairy-like beings that help Mario and the gang throughout their adventure. Dimentio’s past as a mercenary and a magical descendant clash with one another, and it only muddies the jester’s background even more.

2 An Omnicidal Maniac With Dubious Intentions

Most omnicidal maniacs in fiction wishing to create a universe in their own image at least have a reason for their evil intentions. DC Comics‘ Darkseid wants to destroy the recreate reality, to create a more orderly universe. Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, wants to modify the universe into one without spirit and emotion as a means to eliminate all forms of strife.

But Dimentio? Never once throughout the game does he explain why he wants to destroy the universe. All he ever does is manipulate heroes and villains alike, in his hopes of ruling over his own universe. Chaos and destruction are the only things that hold domain in the jester’s twisted mind.

1 The Decision To Not Work Alone

Given how much manipulation he has done throughout Super Paper Mario, Dimentio could’ve very well done things on his own. But for some reason, he chose not to. He decided to give his allegiance to Count Bleck and serve under the count while he pulled several strings behind the scenes.

Perhaps he chose to side with the count just so he could build a false sense of trust. But Dimentio’s true intentions for working under Bleck will never be known, and it only adds to the mystique of his character.