Engaging story and narrative

It's no surprise that the remake for the Switch of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was celebrated when announced. Two decades later, the best Mario RPG is finally more accessible.

What sets Thousand-Year Door apart from other Mario RPGs is, well, everything. It expands on what the original Paper Mario did in every way, providing more options in combat, a much grander story where each chapter is connected to the larger narrative, and a bigger world to explore. Rogueport, in itself, is one of the best hub cities in any game we've ever played: full of shady individuals and rich in lore and history that the game fully explores.



Adventure and exploration

The story remains unchanged from the original GameCube version, aside from a refreshed and renewed localization. Mario receives a treasure map from Princess Peach, who is visiting the dark city of Rogueport. Mario follows the map only to discover that Peach has disappeared. Thus, he stumbles upon the myths of Rogueport, the titular Thousand-Year Door, and a dangerous adventure to collect the scattered Crystal Stars throughout the world.

Thousand-Year Door is full of twists, and there's a real mix of spectacle and silliness throughout the game. What other Mario game has a Pianta mafia running a casino? Or a seductive thief rat who is willing to be a bit cheeky with Mario? Perhaps the silliest and best example of writing involves Luigi, who is on his own little adventure. We insist you talk to him every time you see him; you won't regret it.



Combat and Gameplay Mechanics

The true star of Thousand-Year Door has always been the combat, and fortunately, the gameplay is the same here as it was on the GameCube. Mario and one of his partner characters will take to a literal stage to battle enemies in turn-based combat. Using timed mechanics, you can deal more damage, defend against damage, or counterattack with a super block. This builds upon the foundations laid by Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, providing more tools, enemy variety, and partner versatility. Badges also make a return, some of which give Mario new attacks like Power Hammer or Multibounce, while others can boost his health, Flower Points (magic), or stats.

You also need to play to the audience by using the Appeal command, landing perfect hits, and sometimes adding an extra flourish in the midst of an attack to impress spectators, all to generate more Star Power to use for Specials. The audience can throw helpful healing items at you, although sometimes the X-Nauts or some of Bowser's henchmen may throw rocks, and you can eject them from the audience. Other times, they will invade the stage and drop items on you or your enemy. It's simple, but every battle is incredibly fun.

Each partner character has their strengths and weaknesses they bring to the table as well. Goombella, the sassy university student, is a solid offensive and defensive option who can either reveal an enemy's weaknesses or attack multiple times. Everyone loves Yoshi, but how about a newborn baby Yoshi with a mohawk and plenty of attitude to match? Physically, he may be the best character in the game, with button-based commands that make him a powerhouse.



Characters and Development

These are some of the best Mario characters of all time – some are simply funny, while others have compelling stories. Vivian, a fan favorite and member of the Shadow Sirens who eventually joins Mario, is fantastic here, with amazing battle prowess and an exciting story arc, further enhanced by the updated localization.

The characters are great, but the world is too, and the beautiful new visuals, remade for the Switch version, really help bring areas like Boggly Woods and Pirate’s Cove to life. Even at 30fps, this is a beautiful – and smooth – game, and we only experienced frame drops once or twice when there were many characters on screen during cutscenes. There's also a completely rearranged soundtrack, following in the footsteps of The Origami King, and now each location offers a unique variation of the main battle theme.



Exploration and game improvements

The locations are slightly smaller than the N64 original, but one of the biggest criticisms of Thousand-Year Door was the amount of backtracking required. This is still a minor issue in some places, but in other instances, new teleportation pipes have been added to streamline the process. Along with the revamped teleport pipe hub in Rogueport's Sewers, this helps a bit.

Undoing the fold is the name of the game with all the additions in the Switch version. Mario's partners come with overworld abilities – Koops, the shy Koopa, can hit switches and grab items from a distance, while Admiral Bobbery can be tossed forward and blow up cracked walls. Now, you can access the Partner Wheel to switch between partners quickly. This helps make exploration much smoother.

There are many little things like this throughout the game. The new hint system helps you figure out what to do next. Separately, by taking on Trouble Center requests, Ian Foomus (a new NPC) can provide advice on how to complete that request. If you die during a boss battle, you have the chance to start again from the boss room and skip the cutscenes. Other things that have been added or adjusted include some new save blocks throughout the game, a slightly larger inventory, and an unlockable art and sound gallery.

However, our biggest issue remains the Trouble Center. This is Thousand-Year Door's way of handling side quests, and they are unlocked gradually as you progress through the game. The issue is that you can only take on one of these quests at a time, and need to return to the Center in Rogueport to pick up another quest. It's a minor flaw, however, especially given the new backtrack system.



We would like to thank Nintendo Brazil for providing us with a key copy so that this content was made possible.