Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is a masterpiece, a must-play, and every superlative I can attribute. Even those who regularly avoid RPGs tend to give this game high praise. I would even go so far as to say this is one of the best games in the entire Mario franchise, or a contender for the spot at minimum.
The story and character writing are at their best here. Each Chapter tells a compelling and unique story for the Mario universe with party members who are at minimum fun to read and at best, very interesting, like Vivian, Bobbery, and Yoshi. The NPCs have varied designs from all sorts of Mario races with unique twists and flesh out the world of the game so thoroughly. Peach is an active part of the plot working behind the scenes just like in Paper Mario which is such a fun role to take part of. In addition, each of the locales are so diverse and standout, like a seedy port town, a glamorous wrestling stadium, and a haunted village with a cool heavily-shaded art style. I even love the Great Boggly Tree for its music and black/white coloring. Speaking of which, the music is standout, damn near every track in this game is a classic and unendingly catchy. Special shoutouts to Doopliss’ boss theme, Chapter 3’s theme, Macho Grubba, and the X-Naut Base.
This is all before the gameplay is even factored in. It’s exactly as solid as it was in Paper Mario, the turn based gameplay with engaging action commands to mix up every attack, but with even more flourish. The Stylish Command system is so fun to pull off and master, especially as a way to fill up the meters and engage the audience mechanic. The badges are just as incredible as they were in the first game, leading to the game constantly feeling fresh and every playthrough a new fun challenge where you customize your moves, skills, passives, and more.
For my personal history with the game, I was introduced to it by watching a popular YouTube Let’s Play of it as a small kid, around age 7 or so. I’d never seen RPGs or anything like it before and was so thoroughly intrigued by the way a story and more deep mechanics could be part of a game. For my soonest birthday, I went to the nearest GameStop and tried so desperately to explain which game I meant without knowing what an RPG was and forgetting the title. “You walk around a town and talk to people! You fight enemies and take turns! And level up!” The employee was so staunchly trying to convince me that I meant Super Paper Mario but after much talk and $15 down, I left with this game. I fawned over it for so many hours, drew up maps, guides, and more. It was this game that turned me into the RPG fan I am now, giving me a deep love and fascination for the genre and sub genres.
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is a great game on all fronts, from its charming writing, to its beautiful visuals, killer soundtrack, and top-class gameplay. This is an absolute must-play, even if you’re not keen on RPGs.
The story and character writing are at their best here. Each Chapter tells a compelling and unique story for the Mario universe with party members who are at minimum fun to read and at best, very interesting, like Vivian, Bobbery, and Yoshi. The NPCs have varied designs from all sorts of Mario races with unique twists and flesh out the world of the game so thoroughly. Peach is an active part of the plot working behind the scenes just like in Paper Mario which is such a fun role to take part of. In addition, each of the locales are so diverse and standout, like a seedy port town, a glamorous wrestling stadium, and a haunted village with a cool heavily-shaded art style. I even love the Great Boggly Tree for its music and black/white coloring. Speaking of which, the music is standout, damn near every track in this game is a classic and unendingly catchy. Special shoutouts to Doopliss’ boss theme, Chapter 3’s theme, Macho Grubba, and the X-Naut Base.
This is all before the gameplay is even factored in. It’s exactly as solid as it was in Paper Mario, the turn based gameplay with engaging action commands to mix up every attack, but with even more flourish. The Stylish Command system is so fun to pull off and master, especially as a way to fill up the meters and engage the audience mechanic. The badges are just as incredible as they were in the first game, leading to the game constantly feeling fresh and every playthrough a new fun challenge where you customize your moves, skills, passives, and more.
For my personal history with the game, I was introduced to it by watching a popular YouTube Let’s Play of it as a small kid, around age 7 or so. I’d never seen RPGs or anything like it before and was so thoroughly intrigued by the way a story and more deep mechanics could be part of a game. For my soonest birthday, I went to the nearest GameStop and tried so desperately to explain which game I meant without knowing what an RPG was and forgetting the title. “You walk around a town and talk to people! You fight enemies and take turns! And level up!” The employee was so staunchly trying to convince me that I meant Super Paper Mario but after much talk and $15 down, I left with this game. I fawned over it for so many hours, drew up maps, guides, and more. It was this game that turned me into the RPG fan I am now, giving me a deep love and fascination for the genre and sub genres.
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is a great game on all fronts, from its charming writing, to its beautiful visuals, killer soundtrack, and top-class gameplay. This is an absolute must-play, even if you’re not keen on RPGs.