Level -1 and Level Zero Double Damage

Level -1 (or Level Negative One) is a full-playthrough challenge in Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In this run, the player plays through the game under Level Zero conditions, only to decrease Mario's max HP to 5 as early into the game as possible. Alternatively, in TTYD, the player can instead equip the Double Pain badge after Chapter 1 to begin a Level Zero Double Damage run. This challenge is nearly identical to (but strictly harder than) Level Negative One.

Rules

 * Only upgrade Badge Points (BP) upon leveling up. (Upgrade FP first in 64.)
 * Do not equip Badges that require 1 or more BP to use.
 * Do not rank up any of Mario’s Partners.
 * Level Negative One: Decrease Mario's max HP to 5 as early into the game as possible.
 * Level Zero Double Damage (TTYD): Buy and equip Double Pain immediately after Chapter 1.

Paper Mario
In Paper Mario, the player can decrease Mario's HP to 5 after Chapter 1. Because Chet Rippo can only upgrade a stat by two levels while downgrading the others by one level, Mario must have 10 HP and 10 FP to successfully put every upgrade into BP. Therefore, the first upgrade from a level-up should go to FP. Due to the BP cap, the player must finish the game under Level 10 to avoid being forced to upgrade HP or FP. If the player reaches Level 10, he or she must choose to upgrade FP and refrain from using more than 5 FP at all times. It is highly recommended to skip all optional battles that award Star Points.

Records
In Paper Mario, Level -1 has been completed by the following players:

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Chet Rippo doesn't come available until after Chapter 5, or during Chapter 5 if the player manages to unlock the warp pipe early via the "Hazard Respawn" glitch. Since Double Pain can be obtained after Chapter 1, the player is encouraged to attempt Level Zero Double Damage instead of Level Negative One.

Records
In a Level -1 or Level Zero Double Damage run, there exists an additional challenge in which the player may attempt the Pit of 100 Trials before or after completing the game. The player may also attempt this challenge without ever obtaining the Strange Sack, an item that allows up to 20 items to be carried at once.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Level -1 or Level Zero Double Damage has been completed by the following players:

Similar Challenges

 * Level Zero
 * Level Zero Scavenge
 * Danger Mario