What's New in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Published on 30th April 2024 by Guy Lanham
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (TTYD) is a remake of a turn-based, single-player RPG adventure for the Nintendo Switch (that's a bit of a mouthful!).
Set to hit the stage on the 23rd of May, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a colourful remake that boasts a loveable cast of characters, innovative combat system, and tear-able puns that will crack a smile in you.
Read on for all the details we have of the upcoming remake of the most beloved title in the Paper Mario series.
How The Story Unfolds
As a preface, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was initially launched in 2004 as a Nintendo GameCube exclusive and direct sequel to the Nintendo 64 title, Paper Mario. Many debate that TTYD was the most popular title in the series, which is backed up by the colossal number of sales it's had over the years.
If you've experienced the original Nintendo GameCube version, you'll remember that our adventure begins in the coastal town of Rogueport. This is following the catastrophic events of an ancient kingdom that sank into the depths beneath Rogueport - and with it - a legendary treasure chest guarded by the Thousand-Year Door.
Mario receives news that Princess Peach possesses a map revealing the treasure's location. But, in typical Super Mario fashion, Peach is once again kidnapped, this time not by Bowser, but by an opposing faction known as the X-Nauts.
Undeterred, Mario sets forth on his journey to Rogueport to begin the search for the treasure and the Princess. Along the way, he encounters 7 Crystal Stars needed to gain access to the fabled treasure. To no one's surprise, there are comically bizarre enemies that will try and stop you. Meanwhile, Bowser makes an appearance, embarking on his own mission to fulfil his malevolent plans.
Game Mechanics and Features
Paper-like Abilities
As Paper Mario, you have access to paper-like abilities that enable you to navigate each location. For instance, you can slip through cracks in buildings or transform into a paper aeroplane to cross large gaps of terrain.
The List of Playable Partners in Paper Mario: TTYD
During your journey, you'll encounter a host of characters to join your party. These partners offer unique abilities which can further your progress in the story. You'll need different partners throughout your adventures as each one brings a unique ability to the table. For instance, if you come across a tearable wall, you can switch to Madame Flurrie to reveal a secret area by peeling off the wall with her ability. Currently, we know of 6 partners and 1 optional partner:
- Goombella: can reveal an enemy's stats, providing crucial information during battle
- Koops: can activate switches, grab items, and take on mobs with his shell toss move
- Madame Flurrie: her wind-blowing abilities disorient foes and reveal hidden areas by exposing fake walls
- Yoshi: can be used as a speedy mount to traverse terrain and jump big lengths
- Vivian: can summon Mario to the shadows with the Veil technique
- Admiral Bobbery: can destroy destructible walls and activate switches, opening up new paths
- Ms. Mowz: optional partner found in Rogueport that can identify hidden badges and items
Turn-based Combat
Combat in PM: TTYD is uniquely set in a cardboard theatre stage filled with an audience. Once an enemy is encountered during gameplay, the combat shifts to this stage. Here, you take turns to pull off attacks and special abilities, together with the help of your partners. As you deal damage to your opponents, the audience cheers, which generates star power. This, in turn, will allow you to spend star power points to unleash powerful moves based on the crystals collected.
The combat system is a combination of timing attacks, selecting abilities and consuming items to give you an edge in battle. What's more, the audience may interact with your battles, like throwing objects on stage. There's a whole lot of craziness going on here, and we're all for it.
Collectible Badges
Badges are an additional layer of customisation that play an important role in combat dynamics. There's a huge range of badges which offer different bonuses. These are just some of the badges we've confirmed:
- Multi-Bounce Badge: This returning favourite lets Mario hop around on enemies, dealing damage to multiple foes
- Quake Hammer Badge: If you prefer hammer-time, equip this badge to deal splash damage to mobs in a wide area
- Nostalgic Tunes Badge: not every badge is combat-based! This allows you to toggle on the original GameCube soundtracks for the die-hard fans of the original
These badges are acquired by progressing through the story. Each badge has a cost, so badge selection requires consideration and strategy.
The Remake vs. the Nintendo GameCube Version
Besides the visual upgrade, the core story remains unchanged in this faithful adaptation. However, there are quality-of-life improvements that improve the gameplay significantly, like the addition of a partner ring. This allows Mario to switch between partners on the fly. Players now also get optional hints throughout the game to make the experience much smoother.
There are new sound art galleries that can be unlocked by collecting items, perfect for fans of the original. There are also new NPCs in the game, like Rogueport's Battlemaster. This toad offers stages for players to practise and hone their skills - super useful if you want to try out specific abilities. Similar to Super Mario Bros. Wonder, there's a badge system that lets you equip badges offering unique bonuses.
Those that played the original will remember how painful it can be to travel around from town to town. Well, that will no longer be an issue as the quick-travel pipe system has been updated so you know exactly where you're ending up when jumping in one of the pipes. Hooray!
In this long-awaited remake of the Paper Mario series classic, you can expect:
- Improved visuals: better lighting effects, textures, contrasts and colours
- Improved soundtracks: e.g. Rogueport tavern's music feels more lively and thematic
- Improved NPCs and dialogue: characters express more emotion and convey text more closely to its Japanese version
The Paper Mario Series in Order
The Paper Mario series does have quite a few instalments, but similar to the Luigi's Mansion series, you don't need to play them in any particular order. These games are designed to be enjoyed as standalone titles.
The Paper Mario series consists of six core games and one spin-off:
- Paper Mario (2000): released for the Nintendo 64. It started off as a sequel to Super Mario RPG but became its own entity
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004): the sequel to Paper Mario which improved on the combat system while introducing a new plot and characters
- Super Paper Mario (2007): this Nintendo Wii exclusive introduced a combination of platforming and RPG elements
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star (2012): a Nintendo 3DS exclusive, designed for the handheld console
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (2015): a Nintendo 3DS spinoff which bridges the gap between the Paper Mario series and Mario & Luigi
- Paper Mario: Color Splash (2016): a Nintendo Wii U exclusive that focuses on Mario's adventure to rescue the Princess and save Prism Island
- Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020): the latest instalment in the series that saw the introduction of origami-style gameplay features
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2024): the long-awaited remake of its 2004 predecessor delivering a shiny makeover and quality of life updates for the Nintendo Switch
As for what's in store for the future, we can only speculate that Paper Mario will get the remake treatment it deserves next. Here's hoping!
What to Expect from the Remake
Paper Mario: TTYD isn't just "nostalgia bait", it's a loving recreation of the classic game that both longtime fans and newer generations can enjoy. It has all the ingredients of a great Mario adventure, so we completely understand the direction that the game's developer, Intelligent Systems, is taking with this faithful remake. To paraphrase one reddit user, "it'd be great to re-experience the same game, but much prettier. Anything else beyond that is the cherry on top." We couldn't agree more.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is available for pre-order now. It's set to release on May 23rd, so get your copy secured today!