Level
The Bitlands
Level code	3-1
Game	Super Paper Mario
Boss	Bowser Big Blooper Dimentio Francis
Music track	"The Open Plane"
Music sample
Level progression ← Previous Merlee's Basement Next → The Tile Pool

The Bitlands is a dimension located beyondFlipside Tower's yellow door inSuper Paper Mario. It has a unique art style that makes the world look as if it was drawn on a grid, like pixel art. The overworld music in this world is an arrangement of "Ground BGM" fromSuper Mario Bros. According toThe InterNed, said overworld theme is titled "The Open Plane", while the music in the underground area beneath the two red pipes is titled "Nostalgic Underground", due to it being an arrangement of "Underground BGM" fromSuper Mario Bros.

Chapters and locations[edit]

Level	Preview	Description
The Bitlands (Chapter 3-1: When Geeks Attack)		This pixelated grassland contains many references toSuper Mario Bros.Bowser is fought and recruited here.
The Tile Pool (Chapter 3-2: Bloops Ahoy)		A large sea inhabited by many underwater creatures, as well asBig Blooper.Thudley is found here.
The Dotwood Tree (Chapter 3-3: Up, Up, and a Tree)		An enormous tree with three areas, one outside, one inside, and one at the top.Dimentio is battled here for the first time.
Fort Francis (Chapter 3-4: The Battle of Fort Francis)		Francis's castle. It is filled with many cat robots, some of which attack the player. References toNintendo products and pop culture abound. Francis is the Chapter boss, andCarrie is found here.

Chapter 3-1: When Geeks Attack[edit]

Chapter preview

Storyline text

Mario and his new friends opened the door, unsure of what they would find.

All the while, Merlee's words about finding the "other two heroes" rang in their minds.

Were these other heroes somewhere in this new world? If not, where?

Meanwhile, the creepingvoid grew larger in the skies above Flipside.

The hopes of all worlds rested on the heroes finding the next Pure Heart...

Francis

Underground section.

Mario,Peach and thePixls have just entered the door to The Bitlands whenTippi is snatched up by a nerdy-looking chameleon, who claims it has caught a "super rare pixelated butterfly". Before Mario and Peach can help her, the chameleon disappears. Mario and Peach hear a voice coming from a bush and find a Pixl namedBarry in it. Barry tells Mario and Peach that Tippi was kidnapped byFrancis, the "nerd to end all nerds," who also has a liking for butterflies. He has taken her tohis castle, which has been known to be locked up tight. Barry discourages trying to get Tippi back, but Mario's persistence wins out and Barry agrees to help. He gives Mario and Peach three tips. First, he tells Mario and Peach that "a bunch of no-class jerks" are hiding out in a group of old fortresses. However, the fortresses are so old and worn out, they could be taken out easily with an explosion. Next, he tells Mario and Peach aboutan ocean just past the fortresses. There, they will have to fight amonster, but it can be dispatched by attacking its red tentacle. His last tip is to watch foran enormous tree. There's a large gorge on the other side of it and to get past it, Mario and Peach must ride the red wind. After giving them those tips, Barry asks them to come back to see him if they somehow defeat Francis, hinting at how to recruit this Pixl.

The first area consists of a small mountain, patrolled by severalKoopa Troopas (who, notably, are not wearing sunglasses, as these have not been brainwashed intoCount Bleck's army). There is a pipe on either side of the mountain, with aPiranha Plant in one. Beyond the mountain is a huge pipe bypassed byFlipping. On the other side is a flip block that can be used to get on top of the pipe. There is aSave Block and then a large chasm with a red pipe on either side. Across the chasm is several vertical lines of colored blocks. Flipping reveals these blocks to actually be in different patterns, such as a humanoid figure or castle turret. This area has someMagikoopas and aBack Cursya. If Mario or Peach are able to get on top of the colored blocks, they may find a floating platform with a Piranha PlantCard. At the end of this area is a pipe leading into the background, where a pipe leading underground is found. In the underground room is aThunder Rage and aBlomeba. Defeating the Blomeba reveals a pipe leading back up. AnIce Storm can be found at the edge of the background area.

Back across the red pipes, the player should get on top of the tall pipe and jump, revealing an invisible block with a ladder inside that can be climbed to a floating platform with a door on it. To the left of this new area is two pipes, a short one and a tall one, and aSproing-Oing. There is a Piranha Plant in the right pipe. Peach's parasol can be used to get on top of the tall pipe, which leads into the background where aCatch Card SP is found. To the right is a? Block containing aMega Star, which can be used to get through the following area to another door. The next area consists of many sets of blocks and the door opens in midair. When the player lands, a Koopa Troopa sees them and runs away, hitting a ? Block in the process and collecting a Mega Star, becomingMega Koopa. The ideal way of defeating Mega Koopa is to run to the left and collect a Mega Star. To the far right of this area is a sign that, when read backwards, reads:"fall in between the red pipes".

Mario usedBoomer to blow up Bowser's temporary fortress.

By jumping into the pit between the red pipes in the first area, the player can access an area very similar toWorld 1-2 ofSuper Mario Bros. After this area is an area where the player must deal with manyKoopa Strikers before getting to the old fortress Barry spoke of. Mario and Peach findBowser's Minions holed up inside. They must get through the fortresses, dodging enemies, until they get to a red X on the side of the last fortress. UsingBoomer near the X destroys the fortress and revealsBowser. Bowser sees Mario and flies into a rage about having his castle destroyed yet again. He separates Peach from Mario and duels him. Mario wins using Boomer and is reunited with Peach. After an argument, Bowser joins the team as a playable character. He tells his minions to hold down the fort while he is gone. They pretend to be upset that he is leaving, but secretly plan to party. The three heroes leave to go rescue Tippi.

Enemies[edit]

• 

  Koopa Troopa

• 

  Piranha Plant

• 

  Magikoopa

• 

  Back Cursya

• 

  Megabite (near red pipes)

• 

  Blomeba

• 

  Spiked Goomba

• 

  Sproing-Oing

• 

  Hammer Bro

• 

  Goomba

• 

  Paragoomba

• 

  Paratroopa

• 

  Mega Koopa

• 

  Gloomba

• 

  Toopa Striker

• 

  Koopa Striker

• 

  Bullet Bill

• 

  Bill Blaster

• 

  Bowser (boss)

Collectibles[edit]

Field Items[edit]

Item	Location	Image
Catch Card SP	In western background of an area where the first Mega Star is, accessible via the westernmost pipe near a Sproing-Oing and a Piranha Plant, after crossing a moving platform. Behind the exit pipe in 3D near exactly 17 visible coins, accessible via the first pipe underground.
Coin	6 in the underground scene, in the block structure after the collums. 4 in the underground scene, found to the left of the last pipe (not counting the secret section) in 3D. 17 in the scene after using the first pipe of the underground scene. 10 in the scene after using the rightmost pipe in the secret section of the scene.
Ice Storm	In eastern background of the first area, accessible via a pipe to the west after defeating the Blomeba(s).

Blocks[edit]

Item	Location	Image
Coin	In the first scene, above the first platform.
Coin	In the first scene, left of the first pipe.
Mega Star	In the scene accessed by a door, right of the entrance door.
Mega Star	In the next scene, found after going left.
4x 4 Coins andPal Pill	In the underground scene, found near the beginning.
42x 42 Coins	In the underground scene, in the largest gap between the columns.
Zombie Shroom	In the underground scene, after the columns.
Mushroom	In the underground scene, above the ground between moving platforms
14x 14 Coins	In the scene after using the first pipe of the underground scene.
Coin	In the scene after using the rightmost pipe in the secret section of the scene.
4x 4 Coins andSuper Shroom	In the scene after using the pipe accessible only in 3-D.
6x 6 Coins	In the last scene, found right of the second pipe.

Map Treasures[edit]

Item	Location	Image
Back CursyaCaught Card	(Map 18), use Fleep on the blue column in the first scene; beware of the Back Cursya near it. Available after Chapter 5.
Ultra Shroom Shake	(Map 19), use Fleep on the median space between 6 visible coins around an assortment of brick blocks shaped like arecurve bow near two Koopa Troopas, in the underground scene. Available after Chapter 5.

Treasure Chests[edit]

Item	Location	Image
Piranha PlantCaught Card	In the chest on a platform after jumping along the colored columns.
Thunder Rage	In the chest via a pipe on the eastern end of the first area.
Magikoopa Super Card	In a chest in 3D in the secret area via the furthest pipe on the right of the "Warp Zone" pipe trio in the underground area.

Menu description[edit]

• "Francis kidnapped Tippi from these beautiful Bitlands. Bowser battled Mario here too, but Mario prevailed. Once Peach charmed him, he agreed to join the group."

References to otherSuper Mario games[edit]

The Bitlands (especially Chapter 3-4) holds many references and similarities to olderMario games, or to otherNintendo-related things. These include:

Francis's computer room.

Francis' room.

• Francis has aFamicom, aSuper Nintendo Entertainment System, aVirtual Boy, aNintendo 64, aNintendo GameCube, aGame Boy, and (if the player flips into 3-D) aWii.
• Francis has a huge amount of posters showingLady Bow andBootler (this marks Lady Bow's second cameo appearance inSuper Paper Mario),Petuni,Princess Peach, and other, less identifiable characters.
• Mega Koopa is identical to aKoopa Troopa fromSuper Mario Bros.
• Bowser declares that there will be no more sequels; manyMario games have at least one sequel, and Bowser gets defeated in allPaper Mario sequels.
• Francis is a big fan of certain TV shows, whose names are filled with references to characters from thePaper Mario series, such asThe Blubbening, which apparently involvesTubba Blubba (this way makingSuper Paper Mario the thirdPaper Mario game in a row to at least mention a giantSpike in their corresponding third Chapters),Starship X-Naut, seemingly focusing on theX-Nauts, andThe Grodus Chronicles, which seems to featureSir Grodus.
• The underground cavern in Chapter 3-1 is an almost exact replica of World 1-2 in the originalSuper Mario Bros. The only differences are that some of the power-ups have been changed, and that a small area has been removed.
• The overworld music has several interludes, in which segments of "Ground BGM" can be heard clearly.
• The player must take the secondWarp Pipe in theWarp Zone look-alike area to progress through the level, which may be a reference toSuper Mario Bros., asMario orLuigi must take the secondpipe in theWarp Zone if they wish to take a shortcut to World 3. The Bitlands happens to be the third world Mario and co. visit.
• Fort Francis has a few bars of music similar to those ofPaper Mario, specifically, the music resembles theShiver Mountain music track.

Names in other languages[edit]

The Bitlands

When Geeks Attack

Notes[edit]

• The Bitlands is one of only two worlds alongsideCastle Bleck with at least one boss in each section (Bowser in 3-1, who joins Mario's party after being defeated,Big Blooper in 3-2,Dimentio in 3-3, andFrancis in 3-4).
• Including the optionalPixls,Barry andTiptron, the player can get four Pixls in The Bitlands, the most of any world inSuper Paper Mario.
• The enemies on the fortress with a red X, which are normally too high up to be reachable, can be defeated without items by usingDashell (if obtained before Chapter 3) to jump from the previous fort and usePeach's Parasol to get on the fortress. This allows access to the other side, and the? Block that is normally destroyed alongside the fort, which contains a single coin.

References[edit]

• Grasslands
• Dimensions
• Super Paper Mario locations
• Super Paper Mario levels
• Super Paper Mario worlds

• Articles with unsourced foreign names