Verdict
Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door is a fantastic and close remake of the beloved GameCube muffin with enhanced visuals , retread euphony and quality - of - life improvements elevating this classic to the same standard as modern Switch games . Whether you ’ve never played it before or you want a dose of nostalgia , The Thousand - Year Door is an essential leverage for Mario fans .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door is widely regarded as one of the good titles of the GameCube geological era , so it ’s no surprise to see it take as the next secret plan to get the remaking discussion for theNintendo Switch .
A novel lick of rouge and revamped medicine have helped advance this classic gem to a modern standard , while venial quality - of - life pinch help newcomers ease into the accessible RPG system that strays from the bare platforming of more classic Mario venture .
After fill out the 30 - 60 minutes drive , I can now see why this plot is held in such high esteem . Not only is The Thousand - Year Door an example of Paper Mario at its okay , but it ’s one of my all - time pet adventures of the moustached pipe fitter yet .
Credit: Nintendo
Graphics and music
You could easily make the case that the GameCube version of The Thousand - Year Door did n’t necessarily need a facelift , as the originative report - vogue visuals have mature like a fine wine in the 20 years since launch .
Nevertheless , Nintendo has still been able to allow for a square visual boost , with more definition summate to each persona and target , while still retaining the magic spirit of the original . The shiny , bold colours are now more open of making everything burst out of the display like a bulge out - up storybook , while there ’s also ameliorate dynamical kindling that really helps the diverse environments springiness to life .
Mario and his crew feel more expressive this clock time around , which is important as there are a lot of slapstick gags such as Mario ’s funny lout , wails and enthusiastic nod . These new affectional blueprint also serve to give each character far more profoundness than their two - dimensional builds imply .
Credit: Nintendo
Despite business concern of the fall from 60fps to 30fps , I ’m happy to report that I did n’t notice any issues . In fact , it all runs marvelously tranquil , even with the paperfied plumber bopping on enemy head at upper . If I had n’t jazz of the being of The Thousand - Year Door beforehand , I would have genuinely believed that this game was build from the dry land up for Nintendo Switch given the level of culture at play .
As with most Nintendo games , the music and sound effects here are positively delightful . The music has been rearranged with novel instrumentation to bring it up to the standard of more modern Paper Mario entry . I specially know Bowser ’s iconic theme during the storey cutscenes , perfectly encapsulating the comically cheesy evildoer . If you ’d prefer to listen to the music from the original GameCube version then that ’s also possible once you obtain a specific in - secret plan item .
Such is the attention to detail that even wakeless effects have been enhanced , from the gouge when call for coin to the unique screaky mumblings of each type . These may sound like subtle melioration , but they do a great problem of bringing The Thousand - Year Door up to the same standard as other Mario games on Switch .
Credit: Nintendo
Story
It ’s almost become a riding habit for me to say that Nintendo secret plan have a paper - fragile story , but with plenty of good luck charm and humour to keep players engaged from start to finish . That ’s not the case with Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door , as I or else found the story to be one of the principal highlights .
Nintendo does n’t stray too far from the basic blueprint for the game ’s main plot of ground , as Mario is task with thwarting another malign personnel from contain over the worldly concern . Instead , it was the many short stories in between that impressed me the most .
Each chapter boast its own unique storyline , preventing one of Nintendo ’s longest ever Mario jeopardize from ever feel that it ’s outstayed its welcome . My personal high spot admit a town where all the residents are cryptically transforming into slovenly person , while another view Mario attempt his skilful Hercule Poirot opinion by puzzle out a series of mysteries onboard a luxury steam train .
The Thousand - Year Door sport many original character too , with some get a surprising level of aroused depth despite their colourful designs . This is especially true for Mario ’s many companion , include Admiral Bobbery who has retired from seafaring follow the death of his wife . Do n’t expectThe Last of Uslevels of character development , but I was still surprised by the extent to which I produce attached to Mario ’s sidekicks .
A few Mushroom Kingdom deary also make an coming into court , mostly in humourous story cutscenes that section each chapter to offer a hiatus from Mario ’s latest heroic meter . Peach is given a greater platform than common as she forms a relationship with the AI computer that maintain her captive , and while Bowser is n’t the independent scoundrel this time round he nevertheless steals the spotlight with his amusing failed attempts to do mischief .
With so many memorable story moment and endearing characters , Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door features one of the very good report from Nintendo yet . Even if you are n’t concerned in the RPG system at play , the game is deserving playing for the report alone .
Combat
While Mario is renowned for his Goomba - bouncing platforming , the Paper Mario series instead see the plumber embrace a turn - based RPG arrangement , falling more in line with democratic secret plan franchises such asPokemon , Fire EmblemandFinal Fantasy .
Do n’t expect the same level of profundity as those aforementioned series though , as The Thousand - Year Door is a simplistic take on the rule , made approachable enough for both young children and newcomers to the genre . Yet in nastiness of its ease , The Thousand - Year Door does a fantastical job of go on fight enjoyable throughout .
Mario is capable to use either his outsized beetle or his iconic jumping power to get the better of enemies . However , the telling multifariousness of baddie force the instrumentalist to believe somewhat different tactic for each competition . For instance , villain with spiked helmet will cause damage to Mario when hopping atop their question , while airborne foes are too far away for his hammer to reach .
Credit: Nintendo
Mario is also provide a fellow to assist him in engagement , with the roster growing larger throughout the story . This step by step widens the number of attacks at Mario ’s disposal , from Koop ’s spinning shell barrage to Madame Flurrie ’s life history - sucking smack . You ’re also capable to unlock new abilities by collecting hidden collectibles , as well as obtaining badges that can bestow your attacks with increased harm or handy side personal effects . These upgrade systems help to keep the scrap engaging , and they make a big difference liken to more shallow experiences such asSuper Mario RPG .
Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door on Nintendo Switch is a faithful remake of the GameCube original , so there are n’t a great number of Modern additions . The new Battle Master fibre acts as a utile tutorial for new gained artillery and abilities , while a few timbre - of - life advance have been made such as making it easier to swop between associate and reducing the clock time it takes to pull through your progress . The most utile raise is probably the max detail limit being raise from 10 to 15 , yet I still found this restriction frustrating as someone who like to stock up for boss encounters .
Overall , I do n’t think Nintendo need to make exalted scale change to the combat as it ’s age fabulously well . The Thousand - Year Door strikes a perfect Libra between hold the mechanics as bare as possible , yet still being challenge and engaging enough to keep players of all old age entertained .
Platforming and puzzles
One of the biggest effectiveness of Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door is its knack for diverge up the gameplay to prevent it from ever becoming stale . Combat is frequently segment with platforming challenges and perplexing puzzles , require the role player to keep a keen eye on their environment for hidden pipes and particular .
There ’s a small Metroidvania influence here , as Mario will gain access to newfangled areas as he unlocks additional ability . Unlocking the Yoshi clone allow you to waver parachuting across wide gap , while Madame Flurrie is able to bluster down sheets of composition to unveil obscure items .
The Thousand - Year Door take full vantage of the newspaper art style too , let Mario to wring through close spread , squash himself down to increase the distance of his jump and even take the shape of paper aeroplane and boats to bypass obstacle . It ’s these kinds of element that really help the Paper Mario series to shine , and formulate a more distinguishable indistinguishability compared to Mario ’s many other jaunt .
Nevertheless , any Mario biz would be incomplete without some kind of platforming challenge , so The Thousand - Year Door suitably adds several stages that get a line Mario resort to his 2D solution , call for well - timed hop to get through the end goal . chopine segment in the 3D public can experience a short ill-chosen though , as it ’s often difficult to judge whether Mario ’s 2D sprite is correctly lined up before jumping .
scour the humanity for collectible is a Super Mario staple , but the reward does n’t always put up any foresighted - terminal figure welfare beyond self - expiation . That ’s not the case here , as The Thousand - Year Door excels at incentivising the player to search every corner of the single-valued function , with each item and badge proving incredibly good in scrap .
With that said , backtrack to previous fix can feel like a chore at times , as the same enemies that you ’ve already vote out will spring back to life . This is especially frustrative in the concluding third of the game when Mario is asked to go on a wild goose chase to place a couple of characters . There are at least warp blip that allow for fast travel , while strike low - story enemies with a hammering can down them without forcing Mario into turn - establish fight – both are welcome features , but still fail to completely wipe away the tedium .
Credit: Nintendo
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Should you buy it?
I genuinely ca n’t think of a better Mario - theme story than The Thousand - Year Door . The primary patch may be basic , but there are sight of memorable story moments and characters that had me express joy all the way to the destruction .
This should n’t come as a surprise but the RPG system here is designed for a spacious consultation , let in young nestling . It ’s still very much gratifying , but those looking for complex RPG systems are better off with something likeFire EmblemorFinal Fantasy .
Final Thoughts
Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door may not be anywhere almost as ambitious as other modern remakes such asFinal Fantasy 7andResident Evil 4 , but it did n’t really necessitate to be . This is a fantastic and close remake for the Nintendo Switch , with enhanced visuals and rework music breathing unexampled life into this GameCube classic .
The good turn - based RPG system has aged like a all right wine , remaining simple enough to be accessible to a wide hearing , yet with a varied enough roster of companions , villain and major power - ups to keep role player on their toes throughout . It feel like a big leap forward compared to old Nintendo games such asSuper Mario RPG .
Whether you ’re itch to play this GameCube gem for the first time , or fancy a trip down store lane , The Thousand - Year Door is an all important purchase for the Nintendo Switch . For more options , check out our list of thebest Nintendo Switch games .
Trusted Score
How we test
We play every plot we retrospect through to the end , outdoors of certain exception where get 100 % closing , like Skyrim , is close to unimaginable to do . When we do n’t fully finish a game before reviewing it we will always alarm the reader .
FAQs
Yes , The Thousand - Year Door is a remake of the GameCube game that first launched back in 2004 .
It took us just over 30 60 minutes to dispatch the main tale of Paper Mario : The Thousand - Year Door , while also completing a span of side pursuit .
Full Specs
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
Credit: Nintendo
