Traveling Sisters Three

Traveling Sisters Three
Sprites from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Species	Toads
First appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)
Latest appearance	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch) (2024)

“Hey hey hey! It's us–the happy wanderers, the Traveling Sisters Three!”

—The Traveling Sisters Three, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo Switch)

The Traveling Sisters Three (originally written as the Traveling Sisters 3) are triplet Toad sisters who travel around the world of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, serving a similar role to the Three Beautiful Sisters and the traveling castle maids in Paper Mario. The sisters resemble one-another, but with different colors; a red Toad with ginger hair, a pink Toad with matching pink hair, and a green Toad with lime green hair. The red Toad appears to be the leader of the trio, always being the first one to speak to Mario directly. The pink and green sisters occasionally pay no notice of Mario, musing aloud or talking amongst themselves instead.

Like Dupree, the sisters can be encountered in a different settlement in almost every chapter, unintentionally following Mario along his journey. The sisters do not have individual names in most languages, and they frequently collectively rebrand themselves using different descriptors. A signature element of their dialogue is that it typically features ♥ symbols at the end of the text, although they were removed from the English version of the Switch remake along with most other instances of such symbols.

The sisters claim to be avid adventurers who enjoy exploring exotic locales, though they seem to spend little time in each of their destinations. Goombella claims that they do very little actual exploration during their trips, but expresses admiration at their freedom to travel for leisure. Goombella also considers the sisters to be "ditzy", a fact reflected in the girls' apparent lack of knowledge about their destinations and poor recollection of their experiences.

History

The Traveling Sisters Three appear in every chapter except for Chapter 5 and Chapter 8.

In Chapter 1, the "happy wanderers" can be found in a small park in Petalburg. The sisters explain that they are tourists, having been drawn to the town by rumours about Hooktail. The sisters praise the air and water quality of the town, but appear to misunderstand that Hooktail is in fact a dragon; one sister believes Hooktail to be a tourist attraction they must sign up to view, while another sister ponders what "a Hooktail" is at all.

In Chapter 2, the "world-travelers" are seen outside of the The Great Tree in the Boggly Woods after the player has initially entered it and defeated the X-Nauts inside the entrance. The sisters tell Mario that they want to climb the tree, but question him on the lack of an elevator to reach the top. This appearance can be missed by players who immediately progress deeper into The Great Tree, as there is only a brief window in the chapter in which the sisters will appear outside.

In Chapter 3, the "world-wanderers" reside between the Fresh Juice Shop and the Glitz Pit in Glitzville, having rebranded themselves the Rough and Tumble, Battling AND Traveling Sisters Three. They share disappointment with the minor-league matches, but are excited at the prospect of watching the major-league fights. As Mario's fame as "The Great Gonzales" increases, the sisters will become increasingly starstruck by him. Initially they will request an autograph from him, but later ask to marry Mario, and eventually beg to pluck hairs from his moustache as a token keepsake.

In Chapter 4, the sisters make an ill-timed excursion to Twilight Town, becoming transformed into ordinary pigs alongside the town's inhabitants. Goombella suggests to Mario that the pigs seem familiar, hinting at their identity. As pigs their speech cannot be understood, but their oinking dialogue displays ♥ symbols at the end of the text as with their regular dialogue in versions of the game that use them. Upon Mario's defeat of Doopliss, they are transformed back into Toads and disagree on their recollection of events. One sister fiercely denies that they were transformed into pigs, but boasts that in such a circumstance they would have made for "cute ones".

In Chapter 6, the "wandering girls" lodge in the Poshley Heights hotel. They express delight at their upscale surroundings, and tell Mario that they plan to visit the Poshley Sanctum during their stay.

In Chapter 7, the "chilly wanderers" travel to Fahr Outpost. They inform Mario that they travelled to the region to partake in skiing and ice-skating, but are dismayed to find no such activities there. The sisters bitterly complain about the cold temperature and, unlike their previous excursions, express deep regret about travelling to the town, going so far as to state they hate the destination.

After completion of the game, the sisters venture to the shantytown in Keelhaul Key to relax and unwind on the beach. One of the sisters complains about finding the seawater too cold. Another is more pleased, exclaiming that the water "feels so good".

Tattle

Red

• "These are the Traveling Sisters 3. They seem to go everywhere together. They seem so ditzy, though. Do they even notice each new place they wind up in?" (GCN)
  • "These are the Traveling Sisters Three. They seem to go everywhere together. They also seem...inattentive. Do they even notice each new place they wind up on?" (Switch)

Green

• "These are the Traveling Sisters 3. They seem to go everywhere together. Sounds nice. Y'know, traveling. I wish I had time to travel with friends from school..." (GCN)
  • "These are the Traveling Sisters Three. They seem to go everywhere together. Sounds nice. Y'know, traveling. I wish I had time to travel with friends from school..." (Switch)

Pink

• "These are the Traveling Sisters 3. It looks like they're having fun. They seem to just flit off to each new place without really exploring anywhere." (GCN)
  • "These are the Traveling Sisters Three. They always seem so full of life! They also seem to flit off to each new destination without any sort of plan. I guess that's one way to travel..." (Switch)

As pigs

• "I feel like I've met these pigs before... How is that possible?"

Twilight Town (unused)

• "Those are the Traveling Sisters 3. I bet becoming pigs wasn't in their travel plans. Hey, but do you think they even realized that they had turned into pigs?"

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	旅行大スキ　三人娘[?] Ryokō Daisuki Sannin-musume	Travel-loving Girls Trio
Chinese (simplified)	最爱旅行三姐妹[?] Zuìài Lǚxíng Sān Jiěmèi	Travel-loving Girls Trio
Chinese (traditional)	最喜歡旅行的三個姐妹淘[?] Zuì Xǐhuān Lǚxíng de Sāngè Jiěmèi Táo	Travel-loving Girls Trio
French	Les Tloadettes[?]	Pun on the Claudettes, Claude François's dancers
German	Drei gute Freundinnen[?]	Three good friends
Italian	Le Tre Sorelle Toad[?]	The Three Toad Sisters
Korean	여행 마니아 세 자매[?] Yeohaeng Mania Se Jamae	Traveling Mania Three Sisters
Spanish	T. Pepi (red one), T. Luci (pink one), T. Bom (green one)[?]	A reference to Pedro Almodóvar's movie "Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón" ("Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap".)

Gallery

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  The Traveling Sisters 3 in Petalburg

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  The Traveling Sisters Three as pigs in the remake