Paper Mario is back with a remake of The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo Switch.
The Paper Mario story is told best as an RPG and that’s why this new version of The Thousand-Year Door was so anticipated.
In the game, Mario and Princess Peach venture to Rogueport and in the search for a mystic treasure, After Peach is kidnapped by aliens and Mario sets out to find the treasure and save the princess.
As a remake it manages to stay true to its roots while delivering a far more appealing visual experience mainly through the addition of lighting techniques that add a further depth to the 2d world. There’s also some changes to the mechanics through shortcuts that are extremely welcome.
The clever quick wit of these games bring a unique humour to the mario franchise and because the writing is so fun you can almost forgive it for the excessive amounts of reading you’ll need to do to understand what is going on. There are parts where you’ll be skipping the text as much as possible though. If I wanted a Mario book I’d buy one, would it kill them to add some voice actors?
Because it’s a paper world there is more license for the teams to be more creative with the designs of the regular characters you would see in many Mario games. These unique designs are a fantastic artistic showcase and I was always pleasantly surprised with the details. Each character is essential, adding depth to both the story and the gameplay and the puzzle solving is superb using Marios ability to do things like fold into a paper plane to cross large gaps.
The battles are back and better than ever, blending classic turn-based mechanics with modern flair. It’s more of an RPG-lite so not too heavy but what it lacks in intensity it makes up for in sheer fun. It’s actually the perfect combination for this series.
Once you collect what you need there’s a lot of backtracking like in the original, but the remake introduces clever tweaks that keep the adventure flowing a bit more smoothly, just a bit.
The Thousand-Year Door has held its place as a Nintendo gem. While the remake shows that It’s not just a nod to the past; it’s a celebration of everything that made the original great, with a fresh coat of paint that ensures its magic will endure.
if you’re looking for a trip down memory lane with a modern twist, you’ll love Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake on Nintendo Switch, its an instant classic, because it was always a classic and scores an impressive 9 out of 10
