Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Features

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the perfect follow-up to Super Mario RPG that released last November.

Widely regarded as the best Paper Mario game, The Thousand-Year Door is the ideal reintroduction to the Paper Mario series for fans who first experienced the similar gameplay with the remake of Super Mario RPG.

The Thousand-Year Door tells a fun story in the Mario universe while expanding upon the RPG gameplay to serve as an excellent gateway for gamers who have yet to experience the first original Paper Mario game released on Switch, 2020's Paper Mario: The Origami King.

First released in 2004 on GameCube, The Thousand-Year Door is a beloved classic that fans have been calling to be remade for years. As Nintendo has mastered the Switch hardware, The Thousand-Year Door easily ranks among the very best remakes on the console, and more importantly, still one of the best RPGs available on the market.

The Thousand-Year Door stands out in a year already filled with awesome RPGs on the market and one well worth every gamer's time regardless if they experienced this masterpiece 20 years ago or will be jumping in for the very first time.

Gameplay Impressions

Gamers who experienced Super Mario RPG or previous Paper Mario games will feel comfortable with the gameplay of The Thousand-Year Door.

The familiarity is by no means a detriment in that regard. Instead, it's a positive as gamers will be able to push ahead with the story without having to worry much about any tutorial. For younger gamers or those experiencing the Paper Mario gameplay for the first time, the tutorial is excellent and the gameplay is simple to understand.

The timing-based gameplay is forgiving and the introduction of the Superguard, which allows the user to nail a perfect block that not only prevents damage but also dishes out damage is a fun wrinkle on the formula. The variety of gameplay with characters offering different moves, advantages, disadvantages and techniques is very impressive. There's tons of moves across the party, including basic attacks, advanced attacks and special moves.

Gamer's also need to be mindful of enemy types and how they can impact moves. For example, the player doesn't want to jump on a goomba with a spike on its head but instead use a hammer attack. Overall, the gameplay is heavily based on timing so gamers will have to prepare themselves because some of the attacks require fairly precise timing, especially when it comes to guarding and Superguarding.

Arguably the most important aspect of the gameplay is the badge system, which offers immense customization. There are tens of badges available to acquire throughout the game, which can dramatically alter the user's playstyle. It is so robust that gamers can have truly unique experiences depending on which badges they wish to equip and if they choose to level up badge points to equip more, or focus on health points or flower points.

The level design and combat arenas are creative and engaging. They are designed like a playset and even have an audience consisting of Toads and other characters. The better the player performs moves, the better reception the audience will give and power up Mario's special meter to unleash a special move when they choose. There may also be enemies in attendance who will try to harm Mario and his party, so the player needs to spot them and take them out before they have a chance to inflict damage. Beyond that, there's randomized environmental damage from the set, some of which may even see a Shy Guy run in and trigger for an entertaining animation. It's all fun layers to add on top of the gameplay formula for another aspect the gamer needs to be mindful of during combat.

The environments and art style of the Paper Mario games are among the most unique in gaming. The paper aesthetic is timeless and the game looks phenomenal whether played on a television or handheld on the OLED screen. This is truly the best Paper Mario has ever looked as Nintendo has mastered the Switch's hardware.

As expected, The Thousand-Year Door is flawless from a technical perspective. The animations are perfect and there have been no glitches or crashes. Nintendo continues to showcase its immense quality with another exceptional remake on the Switch.

Conclusion

Overall, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an excellent RPG and its systems can still be felt at Nintendo today. The influence of the playset level design and badge system can be seen in recent games such as Princess Peach: Showtime! and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an incredible remake for arguably the greatest release in the Paper Mario series. Gamers who will be experiencing it for the first time are in for a delight as it is a fun and quirky tale in Mario's iconic world. The humor throughout the game is enjoyable for all ages and is an excellent choice for parents to experience with their children or for younger gamers to experience a Paper Mario game for the first time. Naturally more in depth than Super Mario RPG, the story and gameplay elements are more involved and enhanced, which makes it an ideal follow-up release to November's remake.

This remake of The Thousand-Year Door is a wonderful celebration for the classic that was released 20 years ago on GameCube. It has been a long time coming for this remake and being able to experience it for the first time, it's easy to see why so many gamers have championed its story, gameplay and impact on the Paper Mario series. This will surely lead to gamers calling for Nintendo to remake the original N64 Paper Mario and Wii's Super Paper Mario, plus find ways to port the 3DS and Wii U games. For those experiencing The Thousand-Year Door as their first Paper Mario game, it serves as a great launching point before jumping to The Origami King, which was another fantastic release in the series.

The Thousand-Year Door still holds up as one of Nintendo's greatest RPG experiences. Already an incredible year for gaming, Paper Mario releases as one of the best games of 2024.