specialized skill, some of which are required to solve puzzles. These skills include activating switches and removing physical barriers. Mario is also "cursed" with abilities that allow him to fold into a boat or a paper airplane; these are performed when he stands on a special "activation panel". During the interlude between the game's chapters, the player controls Peach in the X-Naut Fortress and Bowser in multiple side-scrolling levels based on the original Super Mario Bros. Combat Similar to its predecessor, combat in The Thousand-Year Door follows a turn-based battle system. When Mario comes into contact with an enemy in the overworld, the game transitions to a battle screen, taking place on a stage. Jumping or hammering an enemy before entering combat mode will cause "First Strike." This allows Mario to damage the enemy before the regular combat starts. Likewise, some enemies can strike first and damage Mario before the regular combat starts. The player controls both Mario and his currently selected partner, and chooses actions for each of them, which include attacking an enemy, using an item, or swapping the partner with another. Attacking and defending can be enhanced by executing timed button presses. For example, pressing the button when Mario jumps on an enemy causes him to jump on it a second time. Enemies have advantages based on their position on the stage or on their qualities. Some player attacks, such as Mario's hammer, can only target enemies on the ground, and spiky enemies will instead damage Mario if he jumps on them. Each character has its own heart points (HP) that decreases each time it is attacked by an enemy. When a partner's HP is reduced to 0, the partner becomes inactive and cannot be used until revived. If Mario's HP is reduced to 0, however, the game ends and the player must start again from the last saved point. Stronger attacks require Flower Points (FP) to execute and are shared among Mario and his partners. Special attacks, which are unlocked each time the player acquires a Crystal Star, are more powerful and require varying amounts of Star Power to execute. If the player wins the battle, the player is awarded Star Points; for every 100 Star Points, the player levels up and chooses to increase Mario's maximum HP, FP, or BP. Also during battle, a spectating audience will react to how well the player performs. If