Nintendo recently released an HD remake of one of their most beloved games of all time: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo Switch. After 20 years, this game has finally moved on from being a GameCube exclusive and is now on the Switch with glorious HD visuals. For many fans, this was an exciting announcement because of how much they love the game. For many other fans, such as myself, this is a game that has always sounded interesting but we just never got to play since it, again, a GameCube exclusive until now. So, does this classic Mario role-playing game still impress, and for any first-timers, is it worth picking up? Well, here’s my review on the game, both for players who have or haven’t to play the original. And, even though I don’t usually include a spoiler disclaimer for video games, this game has such a huge story with so many plot points and twists that I should mention that this is a spoiler-free review. No major story elements or details about the game absent from the trailers will be shared. And with that, let’s-a-go!
So, let’s start with my thoughts as a fan who never played the original. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a unique combination of RPG, adventure, platformer, and many other genres that collide together in such a neat way. In the game, Mario is brought to the town of Rogueport, where Princess Peach discovered a mystical map that leads to treasure locked behind a 1,000-year-old door beneath the town. However, once Mario arrives, he finds Peach has been taken, and the only way to try to get her back is to find the Crystal Stars all around the world to open the door before the villanous X-Nauts and Bowser’s army. Underneath the town of Rogueport is a huge underground area with many different things to do and areas to find. You’ll also find the pipes to different areas where the Crystal Stars will be found. The game takes you on a gigantic adventure that spans seven main areas to explore.
Along the way, Mario will meet up with many different partners, who have their own moves in battle and while exploring. You can use their abilities while exploring to solve many different types of creative puzzles around each area, and this allows you to discover new places in areas you’ve already explored. They also come in handy in battle, but I’ll touch more on battle later. Every partner has unique abilities that help players feel that they are progressing through the game, and again, they make for great puzzles in each area. Mario can also learn new abilities as well; from an upgraded hammer to a huge jump to even becoming a paper airplane. It all adds to the great exploration part of the game, making you want to explore every part of every area to see what kinds of things you can do. I also thought it was neat how every partner’s special attributes came in handy throughout the game. It isn’t like once you meet a new partner, you only use their abilities. While you do most of the time, the game will switch it up, requiring other partners to assist Mario even late into the game, which was neat.
As I said before, playing Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door HD was my first time ever playing the game. However, I have played a bit of other games to, such as Paper Mario: Color Splash on the Wii U. Before playing this game, I didn’t really see the problems that other fans had with it. However, after playing Thousand-Year Door, I understand the problems clearly. While Color Splash’s exploration doesn’t match TTYD, the main issue is in the battle system. TTYD’s battle system is incredible and very in-depth. Mario and each of his partners have at least two attacks: a normal attack and one that requires FP (flower points) which is a bit more useful. Mario can also use a special attack, which uses star power to either give Mario and his partner HD and FP or attack enemies on-stage. Star Power is represented by circles, and each special attack (which a new one is unlocked every time a player collects a Crystal Star) uses a certain amount of these circles of energy. The energy can be refilled by the audience watching you fight on a stage. The audience can also throw you items, good or bad, or interfere with the fight in other ways. There are many elements to the robust battle system, and it’s really fun to fight enemies.
Now that I’ve spilled my love for this game, let’s get to the graphics, as even though it’s a great game, is it worth it if you have the GameCube version? Well, I think it depends. For starters, the game is absolutely gorgeous, lending the brilliant visuals from Paper Mario: The Origami King. From dazzling lighting effects to masterly-updated texture work, the game is one of the best-looking on the Switch. However, if you don’t care much for the HD graphics, there’s probably not much reason to play the game. The only perk of it being on the Switch, like other recent remasters and remakes, is that you can play the game anywhere – but in game, there are very few meaningful new editions to the core gameplay.
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the RPG genre. I don’t mind RPG games, but it’s not my preferred genre. I much prefer platformers, like the Super Mario games. However, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was one of my most fun experiences playing a video game. While the game is an RPG, the role-playing aspect is only a portion of the game. This game is incredible, with fun puzzles, unique areas, and tons of stuff to discover and complete. Plus, the game is one of the most charming and hilarious games I’ve ever played, since the storyline, NPC dialogue, and other elements are so funny and it helps the game be so compelling. So, if you’ve never played the game before, this is a must-buy for Switch owners, as it’s one of the best RPGs and, at least for me, one of the best video games I’ve ever played. For returning players, I also recommend picking it up, as the game is so beautiful compared to the original GameCube version, despite there being little new features. Otherwise, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door HD gets an incredible 5.7/6 on the Ryan Meter, as it has become one of my favorite video games of all time.
What are your thoughts on Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door HD? Let me know in the reply section below.
Ryan’s Fortress Twitter: @RyansFortress
Ryan’s Fortress Instagram: @ryans_fortress