Remakes so often miss the mark when released to modern consoles. However, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door leaps and soars, delighting audiences with witty banter, nostalgic character dialogue, and challenging gameplay.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, originally released in 2004 for GameCube, takes players on a wild journey as a 2D version of Mario in a colorful 3D world. The 2024 version of this game immortalizes everything wonderful about the original while optimizing it for seamless gameplay on the Nintendo Switch.
Key Details
- Publisher/Developer: Nintendo
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Price: $59.99 USD
- Review Copy Provided: Yes
A Classic Story Remade For Modern Audiences
Paper Mario‘s remake is true to its source material. Like in the 2004 release, Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach. The letter contains a plea for help as well as an ancient treasure map. Mario, left with no other choice, sets out to find the Princess and bring her back to safety.
The story revolves around Mario’s journey to locate Peach as he restores the Crystal Stars to The Thousand-Year Door using the map the Princess sent him.
With a quirky group of characters also invested in the adventure, Mario jumps, scales, puzzles, and fights his way through numerous stunning locations – all while using his special, paper abilities.
The Paper Mario Redesign is a Work of Art
One of the hardest things to get right in any 2000s remake is the atmosphere. While games like Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl didn’t quite hit the mark, Paper Mario does the complete opposite.
Keeping much of the original designs, Nintendo focused on upgrading the visuals instead of reimagining them. This creates stunning, dappled sunlight cast through dusty windows in dungeons and rippling blue water in motes between platforms. The game is colorful, whimsical, and delightful to explore.
While the original game had a grittiness that came from the limitations of technology on the GameCube, the 2024 version truly brings The Thousand-Year Door to life, all while keeping the hilarious dialogue and references fans will remember from the original’s meta.
This Is Not An Easy Platformer
I will admit, that I had never played a Mario RPG before The Thousand-Year Door remake. I’ve watched others play, but I am definitely more of a Mario Kart and Mario Wonder gamer.
As a first-time Mario RPG player, I was stunned at how hard the game was. If you don’t aim the Paper Plane Mode Mario just right, it is easy to miss a platform. Jump too soon, Mario will sink and die, costing precious hearts.
I died over and over again and found myself as irrationally furious as when I tried to beat boss fights in Final Fantasy 7 for the first time. The game challenges players to think critically about every move. Each new location is a puzzle, and if you aren’t playing from nostalgic memory, a guide or walkthrough might be needed to understand how to locate the next entrance into a new area.
While I struggled, it was refreshing and enjoyable to need the help. The lack of hand-holding required me to be crafty, and I became curious and pushed boundaries because I wanted to understand what was needed to succeed in each area.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door’s Combat Is Hilarious
Combat in Paper Mario is a delight. Turn-based battles are such a refreshing change of pace in a landscape of real-time battle systems. It was fun to work through each battle, strategizing how to defeat enemies.
The theatrics of these battles are particularly enjoyable, with Mario playing his fights out on the stage to an audience of mismatched enemies and onlookers. The irony of the setup, and the curve-balls thrown by rogue viewers, create a funny and satirical experience that is truly unique. I loved that it was fun and that the stakes remained low emotionally, even when the battles were difficult.
Verdict 8/10
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is just a good time. It is fun, witty, and filled with nostalgia Mario fans from the 2000s will delight in. The platforming keeps players on their toes, while battles encourage strategic leveling. It’s a fantastic game that is perfect for both longtime and new fans of the franchise.
While I do wish fast travel had been added for simplicity, this is an authentic remake of a game iconic to its original decade, and seeing it updated to a modern console is wonderful. It’s fun, and at the end of the day, a giggle, a good joke, and excellent gameplay are what make Mario legendary.
**A Nintendo Switch code was provided to Bonus Action for the purpose of this review**
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