Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Review (Switch)

Paper Mario: The Millennium Door took place as THE standard for Mario RPGs for 20 years. Alongside its N64 predecessor, it captured what fans expected from their turn-based adventures starring a plumber: silly humor, epic adventures, fantastic combat and charm. Purists often view the original GameCube as the end of “real” Paper Mario style – a bit unfair, perhaps, when Super Paper Mario and The Origami King are both great, although undeniably different from that original formula.

It’s no surprise that the Switch remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was celebrated from the moment it was announced. Even if you like other Paper Mario titles, it’s hard to argue that the Thousand-Year Door wasn’t a high point for the plumber, not just in the RPG space but in the broader Mario canon. Two decades later, that still holds true and the best Mario RPG is finally more accessible.

What sets Thousand-Year Door apart from other Mario-starring RPGs is, well, All. It expands on what the first Paper Mario did in every way, giving you more combat options, a much grander story where each chapter connects to the larger narrative, and a larger world to explore. Rogueport is single-handedly one of the best hub towns in any game we’ve ever played: teeming with seedy individuals and brimming with lore and history that the game fully explores. The Millennium Gate also feels and pieces as a great RPG, with wrinkles appropriate for a Mario game, like dog-shaped walls waiting to be torn apart, hidden pipes waiting to be unfolded, and playable Peach and Bowser sections that add to the charm and fun. ‘humor.

The story is unchanged from the original GameCube version, aside from a refreshed and revamped localization. Things begin when Mario receives a treasure map from Princess Peach, who is visiting the shady town of Rogueport. Mario follows the map and discovers that Peach is missing. Thus, he stumbles upon the myths of Rogueport, the titular thousand-year gate, and a dangerous adventure to collect the crystal stars that will cover the world.

The Thousand Year Gate is full of twists and turns, and there’s a real mix of spectacle and silliness throughout. From Hooktail’s grand entrance at the top of the game’s first dungeon to the hilarious whodunnit on the Excess Express, it’s brimming with personality. In what other Mario game has a Pianta mafia running a casino? Or a flirtatious mouse thief ready to get a little cheeky with Mario? Perhaps the silliest and best example of writing involves Luigi, who embarks on his own little adventure. We insist that you speak to him every time you see him; you will not regret it.

The real star of Thousand-Year Door has always been the combat, and thankfully the gameplay is the same here as it was on the GameCube. Mario and one of his partner characters will literally take the next step to fight their enemies in turn-based combat. With timing-based mechanics, you can do more damage, defend against damage, or counterattack with a superguard. It builds on the foundations laid by Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, giving you more tools, enemy variety, and partner versatility. Badges also return, some of which give Mario new attacks like Power Hammer or Multibounce, while others can improve his health, Flower Points (magic), or stats. Mario is endlessly customizable and you can go to town and experiment with whatever style of play you want.

You also have to play has the crowd by using the Call command, landing perfect hits, and sometimes even adding an extra hit mid-attack to wow the spectators, all to generate more Star Power to use specials. The crowd can throw useful healing items at you, although at other times the X-Nauts or some of Bowser’s minions may throw rocks and you can knock them out of the crowd. Other times they will invade the stage and drop items on you or your enemy. It’s simple, but each battle is incredibly fun.

Each partner character also has their strengths and weaknesses. Goombella, the sassy college student, is a solid offensive and defensive option who can reveal an enemy’s weaknesses to you or attack for multiple hits. Everyone loves Yoshi, but how about a newly hatched baby Yoshi who sports a mohawk and tons of attitude to go with it? Physically, he might be the best character in the game, with fun button-based controls that make him a powerhouse.

These are some of the best Mario characters of all time – some are downright funny, while others have sob-worthy stories. But we want to focus on Vivian, a fan favorite and member of the Three Shadows who eventually joins Mario. We loved her in the original, and she’s just as great here, with fantastic fighting prowess and a heartwarming story arc, made even better by the updated localization. In Japanese and several other languages, Vivian has always been a transgender woman, but in the original English writing this was omitted. Now, in English, Vivian talks about accepting her true identity – particularly her gender. It’s only a scene or two, but it’s a pivotal moment that should have always been there, and we’re glad it was “restored” for the Switch version.

The characters are great, as is the world, and the great new visuals, remade for the Switch version, really help bring areas like Boggly Woods and Pirate’s Cove to life. Even at 30fps, it’s a beautiful – and smooth – game, and we only experienced frame drops once or twice, even though there were many characters on screen during cutscenes . There’s also a completely revamped soundtrack, which takes inspiration from The Origami King’s book, and now each location offers a unique twist on the main battle theme: Glitzville gives you a rock rendition, while Hooktail’s Castle offers something something a little more. sinister. Rogueport even offers multiple variations of its theme, with a sea shanty at the harbor or a jig inside the inn. We can’t praise the new music enough, and it breathes new life into the adventure.

The locations are a bit smaller than those of the N64 original, but one of the biggest criticisms of Thousand-Year Door was the amount of backtracking required. This is still a small issue in some places, like in Chapter 2, but in other cases – like in Chapters 4 and 5 – a new warp pipe has been added to the Creepy Steeple and a spring on Keelhaul Key to facilitate the process. With the revamped warp pipe hub in the Rogueport Sewers, these help just A little.

Ironing out the creases is the name of the game with all the additions in the Switch version. Mario’s partners possess supernatural skills: Koops, the shy Koopa, can press switches and grab objects from a distance, while Admiral Bobbery can be thrown forward and explode walls with cracks. These skills are necessary to progress and discover secrets, but previously you had to access the menu to swap these characters. Now you can access the Partner Wheel to switch between partners in the blink of an eye. This saves a click or two, but it also helps make exploring much smoother.

There are lots of little things like this everywhere. The new hint system helps you figure out what to do next. Additionally, when responding to requests from the Trouble Center, Ian Foomus (a new NPC) can give advice on how to respond to that request. If you die during a boss fight, you will have the option to start again from the boss room. And skip the cutscenes – and it also works for that infamously long final boss. Other items that have been added or changed include a few new save blocks throughout the game, a slightly larger inventory, and an unlockable art and sound gallery.

However, our biggest complaint remains the Trouble Center. This is the way Thousand-Year Door handles side quests, and they unlock gradually as you progress through the game. The problem is that you can only take on one at a time and you must return to Rogueport Center to pick up another quest. This seemed like an obvious solution to us, especially since you have a journal in which Mario stores clues for Shine Sprites or Star Pieces to collect. This is a minor flaw, however, especially considering the new backtracking system.

If there’s anything else that slightly disappoints us, it’s the lack of new content. Last year’s Super Mario RPG remake certainly didn’t add much, but it did add just enough – and made it harder. We can’t go into detail, but players returning to TTYD for the first time in years might be a little disappointed, despite everything else this remake does it well.