If you’re a fan of gaming’s most famous plumber and you’re looking for something a little bit different to sink your teeth into beyond stomping on gamba, throwing blue shells or having a boardgame style mini-game party with your mates. Then Nintendo and Intelligent Systems may just have a remaster/remake for you. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the second in the Paper Mario series, has just been give a spit and polish. And it seems at home on the Switch, some 20 years since it first hit the Gamecube.
Mario Story
Unlike most Mario games, there is a very strong tale running through The Thousand-Year Door. The soothsayers tell of mystical city has been lost to the waves for years. However, legend has it that the city can still be reacted by the titular thousand-year door.
One sunny day in the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach happens upon a treasure map that, if correct, will lead you to The Thousand-Year Door. At the same time, she heads to Rogueport to start the search in asking Mario to join her.
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But. on his arrival Peach is nowhere to be found. And here beings the adventure. Mario once again has to find Peach, as well as solving the mystery of The Thousand-Year Door.
More than Mario
Beyond the shock of of having a tale deeper than a puddle and actually being laugh out loud funny at times, you’ll may also be taken aback by the fact that the gameplay here is very RPG-focused. You search Rougueport and the connecting areas, looking for crystal stars that can open The Thousand-Year Door.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is split across some eigh chapters and a prologue. Each one delivers a new location in the game, as well an ever more colourful cast of NPCs. Some of which, you’ll be able to have join you to help during combat. And, you can now switch between party member on the fly thanks to a new battle system.
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This system sticks to the turn-based formula for the most part, though there is a strong active battle system at work too – where you’ll have to time button presses to get the most bang for your buck on attacks and defence.
You and one-party member have health points and flower points, used for attacks and you’ll also fill a special attacks bar that unleashes a powerful attack.
Twist to the Tale
In an interesting twist, all the battles take place on a stage (like you are in a theatre) complete with audience, who you can and will often use to help you, by appealing to them which in turn helps you fill your special bar quicker.
As you battle, you’ll level up and unlock ever more powerful attacks, but oddly its only Mario who directly levels up through battles, whereas party members are levelled up by finding special items in the world.
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Levelling Mario up sees you adding to three areas; your health points, flower points or badge points – which grant you passive abilities to get the upper hand in fights or exploring the world.
Refined RPG Experience
A welcome addition to the game is that the fast travel system has been refined a bit, to be more user friendly. Though you will be doing a bit of backtracking, despite this welcome change.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is visually stunning. The game is presented in that simple colourful, charming and ‘oh so Nintendo’ style. There’s a lot of charm to be seen as you travel through this perfectly crafted paper world.
If you have played the Switch Paper Mario title The Origami King, you’ll have a good idea of the level of polish on show. And this is a total ground-up remake on the visual front.
Sounds of Splendour
Sound wise the visuals are top tier too, from the sickly charming soundtrack, which has seen a few tweaks with having some tracks rearranged or reworked for different areas.
Especially the battle theme, which changes town to town ever so slightly. The game is filled with sound effects of the joyous kind you expect from Nintendo. Perhaps more importantly, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door sounds like a Mario game.
In addition, there is a sound gallery that lets you bop out to these absolute bangers. There is even an in-game item, that lets you swap the soundtrack from the Switch version back to the OG Gamecube tracks.
Reissue Issues
While a solid remake overall, it’s worth noting that this 2024 Switch build is capped at 30 FPS, while the original Gamecube Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door ran at 60 FPS. This downgrade won’t affect gameplay, and many won’t even notice. But, it’s worth highlighting as a odd unimprovement.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a remake that achieves what gamers want from a remake. It preserves the core of the original, but tweaks and adds to it in way that enrich the overall package.
While few were waiting for this to be given the remake treatment, Nintendo have played a stormer once again. And, in doing so, have delivered a welcome blast from Mario’s past and another must-have Switch title.