Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door Remake is on the horizon. Deemed likely the “best Paper Mario game to ever exist”, Nintendo has some high expectations to reach as fans will only expect the best here. Thankfully, this game is shaping up to be another cult classic and will likely fall into Nintendo’s ever-green catalogue of games.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door kicks off with its classic storybook opening. Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach informing him about a possible treasure beneath the city of Rogueport. He immediately sets off to meet Princess Peach and uncover this secret.
For the most part, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door follows the same traditional story and gameplay elements of the original game. Given how excellent it was back in the day, this doesn’t surprise me. Nintendo has left it all untouched.
However, where the game shines is in its “remake” features. The pop-up storybook design is simply stunning. Everything comes to life in the game with its paper art style while also adding in a few details here and there that completely caught me off-guard.
Small reflections on the ground beneath Mario and his party, as they explore various areas, add a much-needed modern visual touch to the game. Paper houses look almost hand-crafted with various intricate details filling each bookshelf and dinner table.
Every environment has also been brought to life with this paper style. The most mundane objects, like a tree, quietly sway in the wind as the paper sheets rustle back and forth. Even the smaller details, such as a “plop” in a pool of water see thin sheets of paper ripple across the surface to replicate a wave. I sort of want to pause the game and zoom into these finer details. They only last a split-second and deserve to be praised.
The same can be said for the game’s sound work. Paper crimples and folds sound fantastic. Small nudges with haptic feedback while all these animations take place add to the ambience. Even a paper tear has its oddly satisfying sound while it scrapes against your hand thanks to the Joy-Con vibrations.
These sorts of “cute” sound cues feed into everything I experienced so far in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door. Navigating the menu features mild “bobs and bips” as I browsed each tab and equipped new badges. Every line of dialogue is also weirdly animated in its own gibberish tone. All of this simply adds to the game’s incredible personality.
Outside of the presentation, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door has also kept me entertained. While it is a much slower RPG in comparison to other modern-day titles, the game works. I also think the overall story is unlike other entries in the series which helps carry the at-times, snail-pace gameplay.
Combat revolves around pulling off moves and timing certain actions to perform them better. The Power Smash move, for example, lets me hold the analogue stick to the left and let go at the perfect time to deal more damage.
A Multibounce Stomp attack then saw me time an “A” button press perfectly to stomp on a set of enemies. This helped a lot given that you can only really attack the enemy in front of the pack at most times.
Badges, which also act as perks for Mario, are layered in unique abilities that range from buffs during combat to even game-altering features. One, let me play the classic GameCube soundtrack instead of the remake’s version. The badge system is customizable so you’ll be able to choose how you want to play the game.
Mario’s companions, called “Partners” also add to this with their skills. Most of these can be used in and out of combat. Koops, for example, can be kicked in his shell to hit switches and collect items which Mario is unable to reach.
Goombella, on the other hand, provides useful information about not only the world around you but also enemy health points and weaknesses. The remake also features a quick change dial where I could swap Partners around without having to go into a menu. Unlike the original game.
My full review of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door will be coming up in the weeks ahead but this is just a small taste of the fun I am having in the game. Mostly, I am enjoying the game’s sheer beauty the most so far. Everything from the combat stage to the characters and sounds. It is all brilliantly designed and feels as modern as ever.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door aims to be the best way to experience the best Paper Mario. I have no doubt it will achieve this. Catch up on the latest overview trailer for the game below:
