Riverside Station
| Riverside Station | |
|---|---|
 Mario grabbing pipes to cross. | |
| First appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) |
| Latest appearance | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024) |
| Greater location | Rogueport's surrounding areas |
| Inhabitants | Poison Pokeys, Ruff Puffs, Spiky Parabuzzies, Smorgs |
- “I saw some suspicious-looking shadowy people wearing hats go into the station... They must've gone down to the bridge-control room to flip the switch there.”
- —Riverside Station worker, Paper Mario: The The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)
Riverside Station is an old, deserted train station in the game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and the only known stop the Excess Express makes between Rogueport and Poshley Heights; the train typically stops at this station so it can be refueled before its commute continues. There was once a river that flowed beneath the bridge here (hence the name "Riverside Station"), but it dried up at an undisclosed time before Mario's arrival and the area has since become a pasture. The station's decommission was quite possibly a result of the Smorg infestation or other enemies that invaded. Despite its dilapidated state, there are two workers at the station.
The Excess Express always arrives at this location during sunset, however the time displayed on the station's clock tower matches that of the Nintendo GameCube's internal clock. This is changed in the remake where the train arrives at 5 PM. The station proper contains a hub area, an elevator, a machinery room, a deck, a garbage dump, and an old office and archives in the station's basement. Some train pictures can be seen on the walls in various places inside the station building. In the Nintendo Switch remake, the train depicted in the pictures more closely resembles the K64 train from the original Paper Mario, which suggests that an engine of its design operated on the railway before being replaced with the current Excess Express.
History
Before the Excess Express reaches Riverside Station, members of the Three Shadows enter the building and flip the switch to lift the drawbridge. When the train arrives, a Riverside Station worker informs Mario of the dilemma and gives him a key, granting him access to the otherwise locked station. From there, Mario goes to the station's office to obtain the Ultra Boots. Using his newly acquired boots, Mario obtains the Elevator Key and uses it to reach the station's control room. When Mario and his partner reach the bottom, they find numerous Smorgs surrounding the switch to the drawbridge. They knock away the Smorgs and flip the switch to lower the drawbridge, allowing it to fall back into place so the Excess Express can continue its commute. Before the train leaves, the Smorg horde stow away on the train.
Enemies
Formations
For enemy formations in Riverside Station, see here.
Items
| Item | Icon | Found in |
|---|---|---|
| Close Call P | 
|
In the first room, it is on the ledge on the left side of the room and is accessed by Spring Jumping underneath the ledge. |
| Dried Mushroom | 
|
In the garbage dump, it is in the garbage can below the maze. |
| Elevator Key | 
|
In the office, it is on top of a ledge inside some fencing and is accessed by Spring Jumping underneath the ledge. |
| HP Plus | 
|
On the deck, it is on a ledge in the northwest wall accessed by using Tube Mode at the base of the highest set of stairs. |
| P-Up, D-Down | 
|
In the garbage dump, it is in a small alcove inside the big maze. |
| Shine Sprite | 
|
Near the wall corner on the right side of the deck. |
| On top of the stairs above the records shelf in the records room. | ||
| Star Piece | 
|
In the machinery room, it is behind the last gear. |
| Station Key | 
|
Outside Riverside Station, it is given by the Toad worker near the drawbridge. |
| Station Key | 
|
In the machinery room, it is on the last platform. |
Super Mushroom 
|
|
In the garbage dump, it is in the larger garbage bin in the area before the door to the office. |
| Thunder Rage | 
|
On the deck, it is in an invisible block above the block in the higher area. |
| Ultra Boots | 
|
In the office, it is in a chest in the ceiling and is accessed through the higher door in the records room. |
Hidden ? Block
| Item | Description | Image | Image (block revealed) |
|---|---|---|---|
Thunder Rage |
Outside, in the area with Poison Pokeys, is a lone ? Block. Jumping up from it reveals the hidden ? Block. | 
|
|
Area Tattles
- "This is Riverside Station. It's one of the places where the Excess Express stops. This place is famous for its scenic beauty... It's the sunsets, you know. Just one more of the many pleasures Excess Express passengers get to enjoy."
- "We're inside Riverside Station. It's an old brick building with natural warmth. Its antique elevator is totally charming, too. I am in LOVE with that thing! You think it works, though? I'm not that fond of getting trapped in elevators..."
- "We're inside Riverside Station. This place has been out of use for a while, I think. I love those solitary lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. It's so shabby chic."
- "This is the other side of the big clock. Lots of endlessly moving gears... A lonely clock, counting out the endless progression of hours, heard by no one..."
- "We're on the outer stairs. A door at the bottom leads to an underground office. But listen, Mario... Don't spend time worrying about posters that blow away in the wind. Let's just take in this killer sunset for a while before our next bad-guy appointment." (GCN)
- "We're on the outer stairs. It's nice to step outside the station and get some fresh air! Hey, Mario...can we just take in this killer sunset for a while before our next bad-guy appointment?" (Switch)
- "This is the Riverside Station garbage dump. Talk about an annoying place to navigate! And it smells like rotting Goomnuts... It's amazing how much people throw away. There should be a door to the underground office somewhere down here."
- "This is the Riverside Station office...but there doesn't seem to be anyone here. Hey, and now that I think of it, why would they put an office down here anyway? ...Or was I not supposed to bring that up?"
- "This is the Riverside Station records room. They file all station business here. ...Or at least I think they do. Yup, these are probably files. Not to change the subject... But did you know you have to hit some switches a certain number of times? Yeah, that kind of came out of left field, but I was just wondering if you knew that..."
In-game map description
- A station the Excess Express must stop at in order to refuel. Long ago, a river flowed beneath the suspension bridge (GCN) / drawbridge (Switch), but it has since dried up. The view of the setting sun from here is unrivaled, according to locals.
Gallery
The deck in the remake
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | リバーサイド駅[?] Ribāsaido Eki |
Riverside Station | |
| French | Gare de Riverside[?] | Riverside Station | |
| German | Tulpenbach[?] | Tulip Creek | |
| Italian | St. Rocca Fluviale[?] | Rock River Station | |
| Korean | 리버사이드 역[?] Ribeosaideu Yeok |
Riverside Station | |
| Spanish | Estación de Riverside[?] | Riverside's Station |
Trivia
- The ordinary Goombas in the records room have several oddities that may indicate they were added very late in development: they are an early-game enemy and much weaker than other enemies encountered in the station, they do not thematically fit in with the area like the other enemies do, and despite being located in the records room, they use a battle background depicting the hallway upstairs. No enemies are found in the hallway, so the background may possibly have been leftover from a cut battle with Beldam and Marilyn in this chapter and repurposed for the Goombas.
- In the Japanese version of Riverside Station, the block below the hidden block that contains a Thunder Rage is a breakable Brick Block. Breaking the block causes it to stay broken until the player leaves Riverside Station. The international versions made this into an Empty Block. In the Nintendo Switch remake, it is changed to a Brick Block containing a coin.
- The unbreakable block in international versions does not bounce upon being hit like other Empty Blocks do.
