It's nice when Nintendo surprises us with remasters and re-releases of hard-to-find games. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Nintendo GameCube is a classic for many. However, the game was never re-released, making it rather expensive and hard to find. Now, with the original game rebuilt from the ground up for the Nintendo Switch, does this beloved classic still hold up today? Or is this praise simply nostalgia-driven? I never played the original GameCube version, but having had the chance to sit down and play the game for the first time, I can see why it's still beloved today.
The Millennium Door is a turn-based RPG with familiar and new characters. The story is not particularly complex or engaging compared to most other RPGs. Paper Mario In the game, you get the same level of world-building and social commentary that you get in a game. Final Fantasy game. Some of the lore is fun, with some interesting implications, but the overall world and story structure is incredibly simple. The game is divided into chapters with the goal of collecting Crystal Stars. With each chapter a new companion is added to your party. Each companion has their own unique abilities that can be used both in battle and on the ground. Collecting all the stars will allow you to open the title's Millennium Door. It's simple on paper, but everything in between is predictable The Millennium Door It is very fun.
on the other hand, Paper Mario While the Mario Universe is technically separate from the main Mario games, there are a lot of things here that make fun of the franchise as a whole. Returning characters like Mario, Peach, and Bowser aren't reinvented, but everyone walks around with a “been there, done that” mentality. Peach comments about being kidnapped all the time, Bowser is just trying to find his place in a story that doesn't start out as the main villain, and everyone promotes Mario as if he's the Chosen One, but for him, this is just another day. Even Luigi makes occasional appearances during the game, and there are a few jokes thrown in that make fun of him about him having another adventure off-screen. Even if you're a casual Mario fan who knows a little about the previous games in the franchise, there's enough dialogue and references here to make you smile.
But it's not all old characters. There are also a lot of new characters that you'll be spending a lot of time with, whether it's a few companions Mario meets or one companion that reappears with Princess Peach and Bowser. The trust that everyone has with each other feels like the perfect blend of wholesomeness and a little edge. Some characters, like your first companion, Goombera, are just there to be with you without a story. Some characters, like Koops, come into your life on their own to make you stronger, while others, like Vivian, have a heartfelt story behind their appearance. Nearly all of the characters are a little bit nasty and will throw in the occasional insult or passive aggression, but there's no one in the group that you'll dislike.
The witty dialogue makes the turtles, ghosts, and mushrooms feel almost human. The game makes them feel like they have a life beyond just being Mario's sidekick, something even the most complex RPGs struggle to achieve. If the game isn't making you smile with references or fourth-wall breaking scenes, it will make you laugh with how blunt and rude some of the characters are. The game also has dialogue that goes beyond what you'd expect from a Mario game, with the occasional sexual innuendo and vulgarity thrown in.
Admittedly, there are some differences between this game and the original. The Millennium Door English version. I haven't combed through this game with a dialogue guide to see all the differences. A few things have been corrected and added in this remake, such as Vivian being transgender, which was changed in the English GameCube version. But it seems like some of the more extreme dialogue has been toned down a bit in the course of the remake, with heckling dialogue being replaced with simply offensive content. These seem like relatively minor things, but they may feel different to different people.
But there's no arguing with how beautiful this remake is. Not only is the game in a much higher resolution than the original, The Millennium Doorbut this remake adds a lot of detail that makes the world feel much more alive. The world looks like paper, but everything has incredible dimension and depth. Nothing looks flat against the screen. Some characters have shadows when they move, frames have been added to make the movement feel smoother, and the buildings look like they came out of a craft store. This beautiful imagination is there, and it helps you appreciate how creative such simple art design can be. Unfortunately, the art direction is a bit too ambitious for the Switch. There are moments when the frame rate drops, especially when there are a ton of enemies on the screen, which can be very distracting. I think it would have been worth scaling back all the added detail for a smoother experience, but at least it's not an issue during combat.
Yes, original turn-based combat The Millennium Door is back. This game falls into the category of “easy to understand, but hard to master”. The basis of the combat system is straightforward, every character has a designated attack, you have access to items that can hit multiple enemies or buff your stats, you can reduce damage by guarding, and you can find badges that enhance your abilities or give you access to special moves. All combat takes place on a real stage, with spectators throwing things at you if you're not careful or helping you out if the situation demands. It's simple, but there are a lot of little details to look out for, and nearly every enemy has a unique way that a group needs to take them down. Some enemies can't be attacked by jumping, while others require you to jump before they can do damage. The simplicity of the combat makes it easy to kill enemies, so it can get a bit boring for the first few hours. It took me a long time to see my first death on screen.
But later in the game, you have to be more careful in choosing which moves and badges to use during battles. If you're careful, you won't struggle too much in battle, but there are plenty of different party combinations and ways to maximize your combat abilities. Plus, even if the presentation and combat feel simple, the music adds grandeur and fun to everything. The soundtrack is dynamic and changes as the battle progresses. Two pieces of paper clashing has never felt so epic. And outside of combat, the overworld theme is an absolute joy to listen to. Even when you're grinding, listening to the soundtrack makes you feel like you're accomplishing something.
I've been playing the game for 24 hours now and I feel like I've only just scratched the surface. But I think that's what makes a good RPG. You want to feel like you're going on a big, fun adventure that gradually grows over time, but you also want the little things that make this world feel lived in. It's not perfect, but given the tradition of what it's trying to recreate, this remake was never going to reach that standard of perfection. Now, looking strictly at this game alone, I think this is the perfect way to experience an RPG, considering that buying this game at full price is arguably cheaper than getting everything you need to legally play the original. The Millennium Door For yourself. This is a colorful, humorous and fascinating world that will immerse you. If you have the chance, jump right in!
