Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – How to Recruit Admiral Bobbery and Go to Keelhaul Key

The much-anticipated remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is here, and much like the Gamecube original, the game is bursting with puzzles, secrets, and some quirky mechanics that new players may find slightly perplexing. Don’t worry though, we’re here to cut The Thousand-Year Door’s more confusing aspects down to size.

In order to kick off Chapter 5 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, you’ll need to find a way to recruit eventual party member Admiral Bobbery and sail to Keelhaul Key. This requires a few steps, but don’t worry, we have you covered…

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Note: The following guide contains minor Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door SPOILERS.

After finishing up Chapter 4, you’ll note there is now a large ship at the dock in Rogueport, but nobody’s on board. The ship is owned by Flavio – the pirate-y looking merchant guy who hangs out at the Rogueport bar downstairs from the inn. Go talk to Flavio and tell him he needs more thrills in his life.

Flavio will now get aboard his ship, but… they don’t have a navigator. He’ll ask you to go find a Admiral Bobbery to help steer the ship.

Bobbery’s house is the unmarked one in Rogueport’s east side, next to Professor Frankly’s place. But the door is locked. So, how do you get in? Use the Yoshi kid to get across this gap, then climb up the boxes onto the nearby rooftops.

Once on the roof of Bobbery’s place, roll into a tube so you can get into his chimney.

Ah ha! You’ve found Bobbery! But he's in a bad mood and refuses to return to sea for some reason and requests you leave.

Head back to the bar, and talk to the barkeep, Podley. He’ll tell you about Bobbery’s tragic backstory and give you a long-lost letter from his wife. Take this letter to Bobbery and he’ll agree to set sail.

Head back to the ship and off you go to Keelhaul Key! You’ll be separated from Bobbery again before you get there, but don’t worry, that’s all part