Okay, it's been a while, but I finally beat the remake of The Thousand Year Door. My "The Prelude" post outlined all of my thoughts on the original game that had accumulated since I first played it, but now, I want to go over my full experience with the remake in complete detail. Despite having been more disillusioned with TTYD than I've ever been before, I tried to go into the remake with as much of an open mind as possible, and... umm... I think I kinda love this game now? I was originally intending this to be me carefully dissecting and taking notes on every bit of design in the game, but I feel it unintentionally devolved into a full-on character arc. How did this happen? Well, you'll just have to read to find out...
Without further ado, let's start with it...Chapter 0: A Rogue's Welcome
- I always felt TTYD had the best opening chapter in a Paper Mario game, so expect this part to be pretty positive across the board. Despite my issues with the game's pacing overall, TTYD gets right to the action in a way games like 64, Super, and TOK kinda fail to do.
- Fantastic opening, the music is iconic, really gets you pumped for an exciting adventure.
- Let's get this out of the way, the visuals look fantastic. The blend of the puppetry of TTYD with the tactile look of TOK makes for the perfect Paper Mario visual style, the lighting and gloss look phenomenal, and the characters have so much more expressions that weren't in the original. Special mention goes to those expressions because they make the characters feel way more animated and lively than ever before. It feels like I'm watching a movie at times, it's so cool.
-The remake even includes unlockable concept art that really details just how much thought was put into turning each and every room from the original game into a believable diorama, and it kinda makes me sad that no one really acknowledges just how much hard work this requires. Instead, Paper Mario fans only seem to care about how "immersion breaking" the paper aesthetic is. Seems like a skill issue to me, the paper visuals slap and always have.
- The game being 30fps is not an issue for me, honestly. TOK was 30fps and it wasn't an issue there, and frankly, TTYD always felt a bit uncanny to me with just how fluidly it moved.
- I'm in love with the Banjo Kazooie-esque voice lines they added to the characters, it should not have taken seven games for this to be a thing.
- Paper Mario now has multi-directional hammering and it just feels great. There's still no spin, but otherwise, this is the best Paper Mario has ever looked and felt.
- Rogueport is one of my favorite hubs in any game and none of its seediness feels lost in the remake. The feeling of it being a big culture shock for Mario is still very much intact.
- The TOK-inspired revamped soundtrack is a bit of a mixed bag. It's all of quality and more instrumentally-varied than the original score, but some tracks lose a bit of the original's sonic charm, with Rogueport being the biggest culprit. However, there are also just as many tracks that I'd say are better with how they further emphasize the game's adventurous feel, with The Great Tree and Twilight Town being highlights. Either way, you get a Gamecube badge that lets you swap between the soundtracks whenever you want.
- The original tracks are fantastic though, I'm already loving the sea shanty rendition of Rogueport that plays in the bar and the groovy bassline that played when you finish a tutorial battle. The battle themes being different based on the location like in TOK are all pretty fantastic too.
- I forgot how top-notch the NPC dialogue is, I felt really encouraged to talk to everyone just to hear what they have to say.
- Goombella's intro is great, talking back to one of the main villains of the game right from the get-go really shows off her personality and starts the game with a bit of action.
- Oh right, I forgot one of the first things Goombella does is kiss Mario. Guess the harem stuff isn't going away. That being said, I love how some NPCs get mugged by the mafia in the background of the conversation, that always makes me laugh.
- And yeah, I do agree Nintendo should've kept the Goombas catcalling Goombella. I don't think it's that important of a character moment since we just had Goombella talking down Lord Crump, but it does add a bit more texture to just how slimy Rogueport is as a setting.
- Looking for Star Pieces is a still a blast. With how linearly the areas are designed, they're surprisingly well-hidden and give the game just a dash of extra exploration.
- Speaking of side content, the Tattle Log is easily one of the best additions this game makes, actually encouraging me to use Goombella to tattle every enemy I come across.
- Okay, now let's talk about battling. As of the prologue, battling in TTYD has already made a bunch of improvements over the original game. Partners now have health bars and you can do a more precise superguard to counter opponents and negate damage, both of which are objective improvements. The superguard is slightly easier to pull off in the remake due to the modified framerate, but I always had a tough time using it in the original so I'm not complaining.
- The TTYD remake adds a Battle Master that lets you learn about and practice pretty much every battle mechanic in the game, and thank god. Can you believe after all this time I never knew about Stylish moves? Nor how the bingo worked? Nor the fact that different audience members have unique traits? In my original review, I complained a lot about the RNG in TTYD's battle system like stage hazards and the audience, and while that can still be really annoying at times, I think a lot of that was due to the game not explicitly teaching you the full nuances of how everything works unless you go out of your way to learn it (you could only learn the timing for Stylish Moves with a badge in the original). It always felt like I was missing something with this battle system, and yeah, I kinda was!
- Also, the Battle Master's new theme is an absolute banger, so Origami King it hurts. It even plays if you have the Gamecube Music badge since it's entirely original.
- I've warmed up to the audience system too. I used to hate how you had to earn Star Points unlike in 64, but having beaten the Super Mario RPG remake, it feels like an early version of that game's combo system. Actually knowing what Stylish Moves are definitely helps too.
- I never hated the TOK combat, but that's mostly because it kinda felt like autopilot to me. It was easy and didn't require much strategy beyond the puzzle-solving, so I was able to breeze through fights for the whole game. In TTYD, on the other hand, there is never a moment when you're not thinking about combat. Rearranging badges, pulling off action commands and stylish moves, figuring out which partners to use and when, it's involved in a way that Paper Mario combat systems often aren't and I think that's why TTYD's battle system remains so beloved to this day.
- One more thing with battles, the remake adds a feature that lets you try battles again if you died, which definitely helps mitigate any potential RNG cheap shots. It also prevents you from having to sit through unskippable cutscenes multiple times, a big issue that plagued the final boss in the original game.
- The paper curses are still hilarious, no more comment needed.
- Now that we're moving to the first area, I need to say that I'm not a huge fan of how Rogueport Sewers works in this game. In 64, the sewers were solely a fast travel system, but you could still travel to most of the game's locations directly from Toad Town. In TTYD, almost every location is accessed solely from the sewers which makes the world feel a lot less cohesive.
- One last criticism, and it's remake exclusive this time. I've noticed people say the game feels slower in a lot of areas and can definitely see that. Most of it doesn't bother me much like the battle animations taking a half second longer or the slightly lengthier loading screens, but the one issue I do 100% agree with is the fact that you can't skip dialogue for some reason? Why did they do this?
Chapter 1: Castle And Dragon
- Castle And Dragon is a fairly safe and standard chapter in terms of aesthetics and story-telling. The concept of an RPG having you fight a dragon as its first main boss as some sort of subversion isn't particularly novel, but it does work pretty effectively especially as a primer for the game ahead.
- Petal Meadows is a solid first area with a few neat bits like going into the background to hit a switch, but it already establishes many of the issues with TTYD's level design. This entire area is a straight line, even 64's Pleasant Path diverged a bit for Koopa Village, and you'll need to double all the way back to access Hooktail's Castle.
- That being said, one big improvement is that there's more stuff to interact with in the environment, like squashing bugs in Rogueport or hammering down grass in Petal Meadows, some of which even gives you coins. It's not much but it does help make overworld traversal just a bit more fun.
- Well, at least that Goombella still gets to reject that french disco dig in Petalburg. They also kept the Fire Emblem line!
- The end of Petal Meadows really wants to make sure you know that you'll need stuff like POW Blocks to defeat certain enemies. The other times I played it, I mostly used the Power Smash, but I feel like the remake floods you with POWs way more than the original did. Or maybe I was just stupid back then, who knows?
- The quiz bit at the start of Schwonk Fortress is a very memorable setpiece and an early highlight for the game, but Schwonk Fortress itself is a pretty forgettable mini-dungeon, once again being a straight line with a few Fuzzies to fight.
- Now that we got Koops, I might as well start talking about the partners. At its best, TTYD's partners can feel like nominal improvements over the ones in 64, with Goombella and Koops being some of the best examples. Goombario is pretty dull and becomes irrelevant after the prologue, but Goombella has a fiery personality that helps her stand out, the aforementioned Tattle Log meant I got more use out of her, and she's more directly involved in the story. Goombella feels almost like a second protagonist in TTYD, not too unlike the dedicated partners we'd later get like Tippi, Huey, and Olivia.
- Koops isn't nearly as special, but he's certainly a more interesting character than Kooper. His arc about wanting to be more manly is once again fairly standard, but it's a big step-up over not having an arc at all, and the ability to stall Koops' Shell Toss allows for more inventive puzzles in the overworld.
- Hooktail Castle is the first dungeon in the game and while the overworld design isn't always the best, TTYD's dungeon design is usually on-point. It's more directionally-varied, often doubling back on itself and implementing some linearity, and they like to toss in a ton of fun environmental puzzles and setpieces. Hooktail Castle alone has the Dull Bones horde, the spiky crusher room, and... Also, the new battle music rocks.
- The part where Koops mistakes Kolorado's father for his own genuinely got me this time, especially with the more dynamic music in the remake.
- Ms Mowz makes her first appearance here and I adore her, she's just so cool in every way. Seeing the dashing thief trope in a Mario game is cool, her design is cool, the fact that she's an optional partner is cool, and her new poses and mannerisms in the remake are very cool. She's also the only one I don't mind seeing flirt with Mario because she's just leaning into her role.
- Mario now teeters on the edge of platforms which certainly makes platforming more manageable, especially getting that one Star Piece on that really tiny beam.
- Another solid improvement is the Partner Wheel which lets you swap partners on the fly, definitely useful in Hooktail Castle since you'll be swapping Goombella and Koops often depending on the enemies you run into (Koops is good on Dull Bones, Goombella is necessary for flying enemies).
- Hooktail is a great first boss. I'm not sure if it tops the Koopa Bros for me, but it's a strong fight in a game filled with strong fights. I love how it shows the player that even the first major boss of the game can still throw curveballs at you, particularly when Hooktail tries pleading for forgiveness (including that infamous feet quote) before eating the audience, regaining health, and moving the fight to off the stage. That blew my mind when I first played this game, and it's still a brilliant in-universe fourth wall break showing that all bets are off.
- Okay, we're at the first Peach intermission, so it's time to get a bit more critical. On a story level, the Peach intermissions encapsulate everything I dislike about TTYD. I went into this a lot in the prelude, but I'll reiterate for the sake of comprehension. First off, I always found the X-Nauts to be pretty boring, both design-wise and personality-wise. Their motivations aren't especially interesting, and Grodus lacks the charisma of Bowser or the unabashed cruelty of Dimentio. The remake does give the X-Nauts a hand salute which is a nice touch that gives them a bit more life, but better animations can only do so much.
- Peach herself gets nothing to do in this game, and it's such a stark contrast from both TTYD's predecessor and successor. In 64, Peach actively tries to escape, helps Mario when she can, and sneaks around the castle. In Super, Peach is an active participant in the adventure. I'll give TTYD that seeing what Peach is up to is at least better than not seeing her at all in Sticker Star onwards, but her lack of agency should still be criticized, especially when TEC does mostly everything for her throughout the intermission. Speaking of which...
- Oh my god, this shower scene is awful. So, Peach gets locked in a part of the X-Nauts ship, right? And she's only let free by TEC until after he watches her take a shower and his circuits overload from seeing her naked. This is a real plot point in a Mario game. In any other game, I'd be praising TEC to high hell for being an awesome throwback to 2001: A Space Odyssey or being an interesting exploration of a robot learning to love, but this is TTYD. Unfortunately, the writing just isn't there. TEC could've been like Adam from Metroid Fusion, but instead, he comes across more like Adam from Metroid: Other M.
- Post-review update: Okay, so I just found out that you don't have to take a shower for TEC to let you in, most people just assume you do. I still think the Adam comparisons are apt for agency reasons, but I'm more willing to chalk up the shower stuff to Nintendo not noticing that interpretation.
- On a lighter note, Bowser also gets his first intermission, though it's a short one. I'll talk more about his gameplay later, but I will say that he... does not get much to do in this game, mostly futilely chasing after Mario across the game. He's basically Jr Troopa from 64, a petty rival who gets repeatedly humiliated across the game. That being said, while I'm not a fan of this, I won't blame TTYD specifically for it. Between Sunshine, Superstar Saga, and this game, Bowser's characterization was at an all time low in the early 2000s, and I'm glad Nintendo has since found a perfect balance between him being goofy and genuinely intimidating.
- That was a lot of pretty heavy criticisms, so now for another compliment. The Luigi subplot is brilliant, and it's perfect the way it is. The fact that we don't see Luigi's adventure is what makes the joke funny, and all the people asking for a Luigi side mode where you get to go with him on his "adventure" in the Waffle Kingdom are only asking for the joke to be ruined, and I'm glad the remake didn't add it. I don't want to keep ragging on the Paper Mario fandom like this, but geez, do they miss the point sometimes.
- You still can't take more than one Trouble Center request at a time. With how many QoL improvements this game makes, this is a baffling omission.
Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree
- If you thought things were gonna get better for TTYD, well... I hate to say it. The Great Boggly Tree is my least favorite stretch in the game, it's probably one of my least favorite chapters in Paper Mario history. Yes, that even includes Sticker Star. It's tedious, it's long, it's janky, it's emblematic of all of TTYD's worst issues when it comes to world design, and the remake fixed none of its issues. I always found 64 to be a more replayable game than TTYD and having to sit through this chapter is a big reason why. However, I'll try to be as fair as I can.
- So to start on a positive, the Boggly Tree setting looks absolutely astonishing. The monochromatic flora, the technicolor leaves on the ground, the ethereal and peaceful music, it all makes for one of the most unique atmospheres in any video game location ever. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, this chapter rules, and the glossy look of the remake makes it look even prettier.
- The chapter starts with your first glimpse at the dynamic of the Three Shadows, previous known as the Shadow Sirens. Yeah, I prefer the original name too. Right from their first scene, Vivian is already made out to be a sympathetic figure as she finds a necklace she likes only for Beldam to chastise her, accuse her of something that was her own fault, and rip the necklace away from her. Now that it's confirmed Vivian is trans (more on that later), this moment feels even more gut-wrenching knowing that Beldam probably doesn't want Vivian to have the necklace out of transphobia.
- So, most of the Boggly Woods area is fine. It's yet another straight-shot to Flurrie's house, but it's not actively bad or anything. But then you reach Flurrie's house and learn she lost her necklace, at which point you realize you need to go all the way back to the start, and then all the way back to Flurrie's house. This is one of the most egregious bits of backtracking in the entire game because there's no real reason for it besides blatant padding, and while later chapters would have their backtracking fixed, the remake doesn't give you a shortcut back to the start of Boggly Woods.
- The first Three Shadows fight is great though. Each of the sisters has their own unique abilities and traits you need to keep in mind which makes for the first boss to require some level of strategy, and there's some neat character moments like the first mention of Vivian being trans and one of Goombella's more memorable Tattles.
- One thing I'm not a fan of with the older Paper Mario games is the
fact that, most of the time, only a single party member can be out at
the same time. This not only means that the different party members
don't really develop a rapport with each other like in, say, Super Mario
RPG, but it also means that there's a ton of dialogue that fleshes out
each partner that can only be heard if you happen to have them out
during a certain cutscene. I often found myself wondering "what would X
have had to say if I had them out instead?" and that's not a great
feeling to have.
- So... Madame Flurrie... I'm a bit mixed on her. Her design feels a big miss on Nintendo's part, both because of how overly sexualized she is and because of how it's the only partner to not be based on an existing Mario enemy. The concept of a gruff retired stage actress serving as the "Team Mom" is a great idea in theory, but most of her best moments are optional and her potential is wasted by the aforementioned party member issue. She's the kind of character that would work best if Mario's entire party had more group moments together. And of course, the fact that her first scene has her forcing herself onto Mario doesn't help my perception of her much.
- That being said, gameplay-wise, Flurrie is underrated as hell. Her overworld ability is pretty situational, but Gale Force? Absolute banger move. There are certain enemy types in the latter half of the game that pretty much demand you using Gale Force, but the fact that even before then, you can use it to reliably screen-clear a battle for 4 FP without losing the experience points is absolutely wild.
- The chapter gets even worse with The Great Tree, easily the worst dungeon of the game. On one hand, its purely vertical layout is a unique change of pace for the game, and the redone music is stunning. On the other hand, Punies.
- The Punies were meant to be a homage to the Pikmin, with you getting to lead up to 100 of these little guys and use them to solve puzzles in the dungeons. However, there's two problems with the Punis in this first. First off, guiding them around is incredibly janky, it's very easy to loose some and their AI gets caught on things very easily, which is a problem since you need to save all of them. But second off, they are just the worst people (except Punio, he's a treasure). Most of the Punies spend the entire chapter degrading and doubting Punio when he's the only one actually trying to save all of them. It reminds me of the Pawnee citizens in Parks And Rec, where they're so irrationally mean that it doubles over to being incredibly frustrating to watch. Oh yeah, and the way more annoying Punies Theme overrides the fantastic Great Tree theme, just to twist the knife even further.
- That being said, and maybe this is just me, but the Punie AI wasn't that bad this time around? Considering it's a new engine, it could totally be that the Punies don't get stuck or lost as much, but I thankfully had a much smoother time with this dungeon than I usually do.
- The dungeon design itself isn't awful either? When you're not worried about constantly losing Punies, it's easier to appreciate how the Great Tree has a lot of verticality to it and constantly doubles back on itself. It's also very intricate and neatly laid-out, and if this were a Zelda game, I'd probably be praising it for promoting spatial reasoning.
- And to give the chapter some more props, the time bomb sequence at the end is quite fun. The fight with Magnus Von Grapple on the other hand is very boring and forgettable just like the X-Nauts themselves, but at least the chapter ends on a reasonably solid note. Frankly, this chapter wasn't actually as bad as I remembered it being, which is reassuring. I used to be intimidated against replaying TTYD because of the Boggly Tree, but it really doesn't feel like that huge of a wall anymore.
- Meanwhile, in the Peach intermission, TEC stalks Peach and makes her dance with a splitting image of herself. He's never beating the creepo allegations, huh?
- Okay, fine, you know what? I'll give TEC some slack. He's a computer experiencing feelings completely unfamiliar to him. He has no idea what he's doing is wrong or weird, and Peach seems pretty uncomfortable throughout the game so it's not like the developers are unaware TEC is a bit of a creep. I see where the writers are going for here and I can see why some love this storyline, even if I don't. That being said, that doesn't negate the offputting objectification of Peach or the iffy power imbalance between her and TAC, nor does it make up for how disappointing Peach's lack of agency is compared to other games in the trilogy.
- Bowser fares a lot better. We get the first of three platforming sequences where you rampage through classic SMB stages as Bowser, wrecking everything in your path. These segments are unambiguously awesome, and rewrote the brain chemistry of many a Mario fan including myself. I want an entire game like this, it's some of the coolest fanservice ever. Character-wise, though, he's still just bumbling around but that'll apply to every Bowser intermission.
- How have I not mentioned the fast travel room yet? The TTYD remake adds a new warp room that takes you to all the major towns and it's an absolute godsend, especially with the Trouble Center requests and a certain wild goose chase later on in the game.
- Rougeport really is the beating heart of this game, huh? The prelude to Chapter 3 has you running back and forth trying to get information on how to go to Glitzville, leading to a very entertaining encounter with a mob boss named Don Pianta. I love Don Pianta, all his mob movie soap opera shenanigans are simply wonderful.
Chapter 3: Of Glitz And Glory
- Chapter 3 of TTYD is often considered by many to be the best chapter in the game, and it's definitely up there. My favorite chapter is a little further in, but I can't deny how fun the Glitzville arc is. Prepare for a much more positive segment of the review.
- First off, Glitzville is one of the best towns in the game. Sure, it's quite empty, but between its flashy look, the bevy of shops and secrets along the sidelines, and just how open it is, it really stands out. Sadly, the remade music for this area is a bit weak, but that's what the Gamecube badge is for.
- So yeah, the Glitzville arc is basically a tournament arc. It's pure combat as Mario works his way up the rankings as he fights increasingly tougher enemies while working his way up to the champion, the Rawk Hawk, who (seemingly) has the Crystal Star attached to his belt. Considering that TTYD's battle system is one of the best things about this game, a chapter entirely revolving around combat works incredibly well, though it really is the presentation that elevates it.
- Part of what makes the Glitz Pit so fun is the personality of the fighters you face off against. They each have their own unique stage names and personas that make them memorable, and you even get to know some of them in the locker room. Though the peak is easily Rawk Hawk himself, a The Rock-esque champion with catchphrases, insults, and a stage presence rivaling anyone else in the game. I'm not much of a wrestling fan, but even I can tell the writers perfectly captured the WWE scene.
- And on the gameplay side of things, it's not just combat. You get special conditions for each match ranging from appeal at least once to don't change partners to purposefully take damage, which helps the fights feel varied and gives you more to think about during battle. I really can't rave enough about how well-executed this chapter is.
- The first half of the Glitz Pit is pretty standard fare in terms of story, with only truly noteworthy thing happening being the introduction of your next partner, Yoshi Kid, who you can even name (I just stuck with Yoshi). While I do think he's a little overdesigned, Yoshi's spunky personality is very charming, and he probably has the most useful overworld ability: He can run. Mario may not have a spin in this game, but you can zoom around the overworld with Yoshi which speeds up traversal tremendously. His movement is more momentum-based in the TTYD remake in that he takes a big longer to get up to full speed, but once you adjust, he feels fantastic.
- The second half is where things get really good when you learn Rawk Hawk doesn't actually have the Crystal Star and Mario starts receiving threatening emails from "X". This lends the chapter a more conspiracy/mystery feel, and you start having to sneak around Glitzville doing odd tasks. It's really fun and comes just as the constant battling starts to get a little tiring.
- There's something really... efficient about TTYD's level design. The environment itself is often simple, but it'll be having you platform across pretty much every interactable object at some point. Something as simple as investigating a storage room or reaching a vent in the champion's suite becomes a minor platforming challenge as you try to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B.
- I've warmed up to the stage hazards with the exception of one: Fog of war. Intelligent Systems seems to really like putting fog in their games and making it the absolute worst thing ever. It's not fun in Fire Emblem, it's definitely not fun in Advance Wars, and it's annoying in TTYD.
- Rawk Hawk is easily one of the most fun bosses in the game, even if it's a bit lacking in strategy. Despite all the build-up, his lack of defensive options make him pretty easy even compared to some of the earlier Glitz Pit fights, but his flashy attacks are still a ton of fun to deal with, especially his desperation move when he starts raining pots and pans onto you.
- But of course, Rawk Hawk isn't the chapter boss. Macho Grubba is up there with the Shadow Queen and the entirety of Chapter 4 as the most spoiled part of the game, but it's still a damn solid twist, along with X being Jolene. And Macho Grubba is a fantastic fight. His ability to give himself perks allows for a far more tense and strategic fight, and his boss theme is an absolute banger in either version.
- However, the Glitz Pit does introduce one of my biggest issues with TTYD on a story level. This game is obsessed with death fakeouts. Nearly every chapter has at least one scene where you think a character is dead but it turns out he's not. Early on, it's pretty funny, like with Koops' dad in Chapter 1 or Bobbery in Chapter 5, but by the end of the game, it'll really start to impact the plot in a negative way.
- Oh right, intermission time. Peach's intermission is actually not that bad this time. Her disguising herself as an X-Naut and getting into a conversation with Grodus is almost reminiscent of 64's intermissions, at least if TEC wasn't still guiding her around like it's Metroid Fusion. Her talk with Grodus was also a lot more tense thanks to the improved cutscene direction, I genuinely can't understate how... incomplete the original feels by comparison now.
- Luigi cross-dressing was kept! Though Jerry was completely rewritten. In the original, he thought Luigi looked hideous in a dress, but in the remake, he was embarrassed that Luigi kept tripping over himself in heels. Glad to see Jerry's gotten over his transphobia.
- I've warmed up to the new version of Rougeport's theme. I think the original track works better once you've just arrived, but now that you're acclimated to the place, this more sweeping and triumphant rendition works quite well.
- "The pipe rejected you" still makes me laugh. I used to call it a bad omen for how painful Chapter 4 was in the original game, but I don't know, that seems a bit petty now.
- Onto Chapter 4 and I'm almost 14 hours into the game. For context, the last time I beat Paper Mario 64, it took me 17 hours, and I went for most of the collectibles just as I am in this game. That being said, Origami King took me around 30 hours so maybe a game being longer and less playable isn't inherently a bad thing. Despite the length, TTYD still has my complete and undivided attention.
Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls
- This is the chapter I was the most excited about. It's my favorite chapter of the game in terms of solely the story-telling and atmosphere, but it's also infamous for its obscene amounts of running back and forth across Twilight Trail. When reviews came out, everyone was talking about how the remake added a warp pipe to cut down the backtracking, so I was excited to see if I would like the chapter a lot more this time.
- One of my favorite traits in video games is when each chapter/world/etc has its own unique vibe to it, almost like it could be an entire game in itself. Chapter 2 was an ethereal fantasy story that could almost be a kid's film, Chapter 3 was a tournament arc infused with conspiracy, and Chapter 4 is a bleak, noir-tinged horror story. The Twilight Town area even has an entirely different artstyle than the rest of the game, with thick shading on all the characters and environmental objects, and it looks sick.
- The bleak atmosphere is established pretty much immediately too. The moment you arrive, you're greeted by a village who gets suddenly turned into a pig upon the haunting sound of a bell ringing. I'll be honest and say that a paper dude being poofed into an paper mache pig isn't exactly scary on its own, especially considering all the actual body horror in The Origami King, but the presentation of this event more than makes for it.
- There's this sense of chaos to the opening in Twilight Town. You're exploring the town and people are constantly turning into pigs right before your eyes. Families are breaking up, the town is falling apart, and the usual trope of talking to the town mayor to be able to leave is subverted when the mayor himself even gets turned into a pig.
- Pushing objects feels unnecessary. We already have the Super Hammer and Flurrie, why do we did another way to move stuff? Speaking of which, it also feels pretty arbitrary which objects you need to use which move on, especially in regards to Flurrie where it's often not clear something can even be blown out of the way to begin with.
- On your first go, Twilight Trail is a fine segment. It's probably the most restrictively-linear part of the game, but it serves as a solid difficulty spike with some of the toughest enemies yet. Creepy Steeple on the other hand is quite the fun dungeon, not quite as varied as Boo's Mansion in 64, but it has some fun puzzles and spooky shenanigans.
- And thus, we get to the big twist. Halfway through the chapter, you fight an unnamed chapter boss... who then proceeds to steal your identity, name, and partners, leaving the real Mario as a weak shadow. You're forced to go all the way back through Twilight Trail, but the lack of any partners makes for one of the toughest segments in the game since you're way too underpowered for most of the enemies here. It's a very Super Paper Mario esque design choice that I really respect, but I especially love that this is one of the few times in the entire series where it feels like Mario is humbled or struggling with something.
- Soon after, you run into Vivian, who's once again being falsely accused for Beldam's mistakes again. This leads to one of my favorite exchanges/character moments in the entire game. Mario notices Vivian is looking for a bomb Beldam lost. He helps her find it, but it broke anyway, so you can choose to comfort her. Vivian asks for Mario's name, but he tells her that he lost it and recaps the events of the chapter. This shocks Vivian because despite going through something (she thinks is) way worse than her, Mario is still willing to help and comfort her. It's the first show of kindness Vivian has ever seen from someone and it affects her quite a lot, it's some genuinely heartwarming stuff.
- But wait, there's more, because the remake also confirms that Vivian is trans, and that she's partially being bullied by her sisters over this. Not only is this just great for trans representation in general, but it also compliments Mario's story perfectly. Despite feeling that her issues aren't as bad as Mario's, the fact is that both of these characters are having their identities invalidated, and the fact that their issues parallel each other so perfectly makes their team-up in the second half of this chapter feel so heartwarming and satisfying. I love Mario, don't get me wrong, but he's such a blank slate of a character that it's rare to see him connect with someone else on a deeper level like this. It's just great writing. I may have my issues with the larger plot of TTYD, but For Pigs The Bell Tolls is easily some of the best writing in the franchise.
- On a lighter note, the crows talking about climate change and the rise of the internet is a fantastic gag.
- So yeah, you need to go through Twilight Trail a third time. In the original game, you need to travel across Twilight Trail a minimum of five goddamn times, which is absolutely absurd levels of padding and the main reason the chapter is so divisive. Thankfully, as far as the remake is concerned, this is the last time you'll have to do this since your visit with Vivian will unlock a pipe that takes you between Twilight Town and Creepy Steeple, hallelujah! This makes the end of Chapter 4 so much better-paced since players who already know Doopliss's name can quickly go in, get the letter P, and immediately head on over to the final battle of the chapter.
- And what a final battle, having to fight Mario himself with his partners in tow, while also getting Vivian's big moment of character development where she chooses to stick by Mario's side. I may have trained myself a little too hard, I stock-pilled a bunch of Thunder Rages for Vivian to use and I got Spite Pouches, so I ended up wiping to floor with Doopliss, but it's still easily one of the best fights in the game for how it blends story and gameplay. Oh, and his boss theme is one of the best tracks in the series, in either version.
- Now that Chapter 4 is over, I can say, this is now one of my favorite chapters in the entire game, and probably warranted the remake all on its own. With the pacing completely smoothed out thanks to that warp pipe near the end, as well as Vivian's improved characterization helping to enhance the themes of the story as a whole, I think this really is one of the tightest and most well-executed chapters in Paper Mario, between the creepy atmosphere, the thoughtful and subversive narrative, and the tough but fair gameplay.
- Intermission time. The Peach intermission was actually kinda good? It's short too. TEC gives Peach a quiz where he secretly slots in critical information about the legendary treasure for her to send to Mario, showing him breaking through his programming. There's a somber mood to this intermission as TEC muses over what he's doing and it's all pretty well-executed, if only the build-up to this moment wasn't so... iffy.
- As for Bowser, we get another 2D segment. This really is the chapter that keeps on giving, huh?
- But wait, there's still more, because not only is Chapter 4 one of the best in the game, but the prelude between Chapters 4 & 5 is also the best, and for two reasons. First off, you can finally get Ms Mowz as a partner. Granted, she's not the most powerful partner and you'll need to go all the way to Hooktail Castle to do it, but she's a fun character and a welcome presence.
- But even more important, we need to recruit both Flavio and Admiral Bobbery to be able to head to the next location. Flavio is a character I admittedly find a tad annoying, but his rambly dialogue does get quite a few laughs out of me. Bobbery, on the other hand, is the center of the one time TTYD actually manages to treat the subject of death with respect.
- We learn that Bobbery's wife died while he was away at sea and was crippled with guilt ever since, and give him a letter from his passed wife urging him to not loose his love of the ocean. While I personally found the World Of Nothing and Bobby's death to be slightly bigger gut punches, this is still an incredibly mature and emotionally resonant subplot. In the remake, they even had Mario do that thing where he tips his hat like in Origami King. Very glad this series is now letting him show some sort of complex emotion.
Chapter 5: The Key To Pirates
- In between three of my favorite chapters, we have probably the most forgettable one. Chapter 5 is a bit of a mixed bag, boasting one of the worst instances of backtracking in the game and also one of the best dungeons. However, it's really the fairly weak story that brings this chapter down the most. It's fine overall, but it ain't great.
- I like how the trip to Keelhaul Key serves as a chance to get to know some of the NPCs in Rogueport, my favorite being the cool-looking purple Bob-Omb, Pa-Patch.
- Remember when I mentioned Flurrie's Gale Force being useful on a certain enemy type? Well, Chapter 5 introduces the pirate spirits which are that enemy type. You'll be encountering them a lot in Chapters 5 & 8 so this is the first time where I really started to use Flurrie regularly. She's also very useful in the Cortez fight, just saying.
- Keelhaul Key is one of the better overworld areas as while it's still fairly linear, there's a bit more platforming involved, with a notable room having you zig-zag back and forth to scale a mountain. In the original, you'd have to climb this mountain every time you wanted to get to the Pirate's Grotto which could get a bit tedious, but the remake adds a spring to speed things up. It's not as transformative as the Creepy Steeple pipe, but it's another solid addition to smooth out the game's pacing a tad.
- Lord Crump telling the viewer not to tell Mario that he's a mole is one of my favorite gags.
- Another death fakeout, and this is the worst one yet because it comes with backtracking. Admiral Bobbery makes you go all the way back to the start of the area to fulfill his last request, and he didn't even die. This is up there with Flurrie's necklace as the most pointless and blatant bit of padding in the game.
- Admiral Bobbery is now the last partner, and we still have three chapters left to go. I already praised his backstory, but his personality is also quite pleasant. Like how Flurrie feels like the party's "team mom", Bobbery very much has a comforting fatherly aura to him. His overworld moveset feels like an expansion on Bombette from 64 much in the same way Koops was an expansion on Kooper, and being a Bob-Omb, he's one of the best characters for pure, raw damage in battle.
- It's weird how people ripped Chapter 4's backtracking to shreds where Chapter 5's backtracking is arguably just as bad if not even worse. At least Chapter 4 has a strong atmosphere, a gripping story, and the backtracking serves the narrative. Chapter 5 makes you double back twice, once to get Bobbery a soda and once to pick up Flavio.
- That being said, the fact that Flavio can ride Yoshi along with you almost makes it worth it (unfortunately, the Flavio glitch has been patched).
- As I hinted at earlier, I think the Pirate's Grotto is a fantastic dungeon, it's got everything. Environment puzzles that encourage using all of your allies, platforming, verticality, spatial navigation, a new paper curse, some neat setpieces, it's easily one of the best dungeons in the series let alone in TTYD.
- That part where you have to boat past a bunch of waves that send you all the way back to the start is kind of annoying. The hitboxes for the waves feel just a bit too big.
- Cortez is also yet another fantastic dungeon boss, being the first to employ multiple phases, each requiring a different strategy. He also just has an incredibly sick design and a fun personality (especially in the remake since he starts casually tossing Spanish into his dialogue). I didn't find him quite as hard as a lot of other people have, though, maybe because each phase has such a low health pool that I was able to take him out before he was able to let out too many especially brutal attacks.
- The chapter ends with a pretty neat sequence where Flavio convinces Cortez to let him borrow his ship to stop Lord Crump and the X-Nauts. I was worried this part would feel underwhelming coming off of the Cortez fight, but I actually had a genuinely tough time with Lord Crump this time, as he also has multiple phases and a variety of X-Naut attacks that can hurt you. That ball-rolling move reminds me a lot of a particular A Hat In Time boss too.
- Oh god, the worst Peach intermission. So, you have to make an invisibility potion and it's not fun. Putting the potions in the right order is a decent puzzle, but having to time the button presses and cook it for exactly 30 seconds with no in-game timer and an out-of-sync alarm throwing you off, and if you mess up you need to do the minute-long process all over again, is really frustrating. And on the story front, Peach goes naked again. Third time this game, what is up with the writers?
- Do I even need to say anything about the Bowser Intermission at this point?
- At this point, you can go and get the Ultra Stone to level up your partners even more. Unfortunately, it's all the way in Hooktail Castle again!
- The Goom Goom sidequest is one of my favorites because if you present any of the other partners to him, they'll insult each other. The highlights are Goom Goom calling Vivian a creepy goth, Ms Mowz giving Goom Goom a death threat, and Yoshi Kid telling him to walk off a pier. This is the most unhinged writing in any Mario game and I love it.
- Man, the crushing length of this game is really starting to get to me. Even with the improved fast travel in the remake, things just take too long to do sometimes.
- Oh my god, I forgot about the "I love you 100 times" part. Yeah, I'm sorry, Paper Mario fans have no right complaining about the Gap In Crag password in Super when TTYD has stuff like this. At least we got another great Don Pianta cutscene out of it.
Chapter 6: 3 Days Of Excess
- In the original game, 3 Days Of Excess was my favorite chapter in the game. If you are at all familiar with my tastes, this should not be a surprise. I love mysteries, I especially love them when they take place on a train, so naturally, I love the mystery-themed chapter. It also helps that writing-wise, this is easily the funniest chapter in the game.
- I think what really elevates 3 Days Of Excess are the characters, they're all so fun and lively. Chef Shimi is great, I love the concept of a Cheep Cheep who isn't fluent with English, and his dialogue is priceless. The waitress's unique dialogue cadence is really endearing. And of course, Pennington is the best side character in the game, a lovably adorkable detective with some great animations in the remake.
- The music in this chapter is also some of the best in the game, especially the Dusk music. It's all very calming and peaceful.
- My one gripe with this chapter is that it can feel a bit point-and-click-y to figure out who to talk to next to progress the story. Figuring out the Ghost Toad exists, for example, could probably be a bit confusing for newcomers. Speaking of Ghost Toad, though, I love his new sound effects.
- Are you kidding me?! Even the freaking ghost gets a death fakeout?!
- Chasing "Zip Toad" around the room is even more fun with the improved hammer controls.
- Riverside Station is a solid little mini dungeon. It's got some fun platforming challenges like the gear room and the tube maze, some beautiful scenery, and some tricky enemies. 3 Days Of Excess is known for not having much combat, but that really is just in the first half.
- Something I find charming about TTYD is how much it takes advantage of its crowd system. This game will not let you forget that the Gamecube was able to render hundreds of characters at the same time, and the Smorg is probably the culmination of this strange fascination.
- Speaking of which, the Smorgs aren't one of my favorite boss fights in the game, but they're definitely one of the hardest. Tentacles that must be taken out before you can damage the main body, a brutal claw attack that can take out 10HP, constant stage hazards and RNG screwing you over, all set atop a fast-moving train, making for one of the most tense TTYD battles, for sure.
- I just realized, the penguins in Poshley Heights are meant to have a Canadian accent, that's so cute.
- Doopliss jumping through the window is a brilliant gag.
- Poshley Sanctum is a unique final location. It's a tad empty, but I like platforming up the sidelines, the eerie dark variant is pretty cool, and the ethereal music is very pretty.
- Meanwhile, in the Peach intermission, TEC dies. RIP bozo.
- Okay, seriously, this is actually a pretty bleak intermission. Peach learns she's trapped on the moon and that she's needed to awaken the demon, TEC gets found out and has his memory wiped, and Grodus stops Peach before she can even learn how to escape. And you know what's the worst part? I actually feel bad for the damn robot. To be perfectly real, I actually think I underrated TEC's growth and character arc. He was certainly a bit uncomfortable at first, but he has matured over the intermissions as he's figured out how to deal with this feelings. In hindsight, the bulk of my issues with this subplot is more about how the writers treated Peach, but I'll admit, TEC is a solid character, in a vacuum.
- Oh, and Bowser gets his last 2D platforming section.
- Aww, Toadette getting sad after giving you the Ultra Hammer broke my heart...
Chapter 7: Mario Shoots The Moon
- Chapter 7 of TTYD suffers from similar issues to Chapter 5 only amplified. The first half is bogged down by a weak story and some of the worst backtracking in the game, while the dungeon in the second half is often regarded as one of the series' best. It works as a fine penultimate chapter setting up the events of the finale, but it doesn't quite have the cohesion to rank as one of the game's better chapters.
- Fahr Outpost is a pretty standard winter location especially compared to 64's Shiver Mountain, but I like the harsh atmosphere it has compared to its predecessor. The new battle theme is also fantastic, but that applies to the whole game.
- So, the problem with Chapter 7 is the its entire first half is just backtracking. And not running back and forth across Fahr Outpost like in the other chapters, I mean backtracking to nearly every major location in the game to talk to the Bob-Ombs that will let you use the cannon. One of the Bob-Ombs, Goldbob, isn't too bad. You need to go to Poshley Heights and give him everything you own, not too bad. But the other Bob-Omb, General White, is a different story...
- General White has you running around visiting Petalburg, Keelhaul Key, Glitzville, The Great Tree, and Twilight Town trying to find him, before it's revealed that he was in his house the entire time. It is the most blatant padding in the entire game, a useless wild goose chase whose comedic value is entirely lost due to how much time it wastes from the player. And just to twist the knife further, one of the Trouble Center quests has you do it all again! This is the low point of the entire game... in the Gamecube version.
- In the remake, now that you have a fast travel room that takes you to every major town in the game, the General White chase can actually be finished quite fast. I still don't find it especially fun, but at the very least, it's over pretty quick this time.
- I wish I liked the moon segment more than I did. On one hand, it's the most open and nonlinear area in the game, and there's lots of enemies to fight and items to uncover if you're willing to take the time to explore. On the other hand, the low gravity means you move at the speed of molasses, so it just isn't fun to spend time there.
- The X-Naut Fortress, on the other hand, is absolutely one of the best parts of the game. Being able to fully explore the base Peach was kept in unrestricted feels awesome, and every room has some fun puzzle or setpiece. The music deserves special mention, it's hands down one of my favorite tracks in a Mario game and the remade version is just as good if not even better. I think the Pirate's Grotto is still my favorite dungeon personally for how intricate it is, but this is a close second.
- Magnus Von Grapple 2.0 isn't anything special, though. Once you get past the massive health bar, he's really not that much worse than the first fight. Smorg was way tougher, in my opinion.
- To end the chapter on a pretty big note, Mario finally meets TEC, who proceeds to sacrifice itself to send him back to Earth. With all the growth TEC has done, this moment is really touching, especially with the music that plays as you head to the teleporter. Mario even tips his hat again. It's just a shame that a certain plot point later down the line will ruin this, but more on that later.
Chapter 8: The Thousand Year Door
- Here we are, the final chapter of The Thousand Year Door, and probably the most polarizing chapter in my opinion. It's certainly a satisfying and rewarding finale with an incredibly climactic feel, but being sandwiched between the pitch-perfect conclusions of 64 and Super, Chapter 8 does contain a few flaws that leave it the weakest of the three final acts in my opinion.
- I love how visceral the door opening is. The psycho strings in the background, the loud thumping, the wall around the door breaking. The whole game was building up to this moment and it delivered in spades.
- Woah, this chapter made a huge change compared to the original game! In the Gamecube version, the standard battle theme would play in the Palace Of Shadow like always. In the remake, the Palace Of Shadow theme keeps playing over battles. I love it when the final dungeon music overrides the battle theme in RPGs.
- As a final dungeon, the Palace Of Shadow is... fine. Perfectly functional, even. It's got a great atmosphere, some tough enemies that flood you with XP, and some tough fights. However, layout-wise, it's a bit of a step back from the last two major dungeons, boasting long repetitive hallways, a pretty dull looping room section, and a few copied encounters from earlier on in the game.
- Speaking of which, Gloomtail was a real challenge. Between the high damage of his attacks, frequent poison effects, beefy health bar, and decent defense, he's a massive step-up from his predecessor in a way that Magnus Von Grapple 2.0 wasn't quite.
- Riddle Tower is a nice change of pace, though. It's the perfect length, most of the puzzles are fun, and the ethereal and peaceful atmosphere is really up my alley.
- I don't have too much to say about the second Three Shadows fight, it's a lot easier to power through than the fights before and after it, but I will say that it has the worst instance of skippable partner dialogue. Vivian gets a great moment where she turns the tables on Beldam and states she's going to punish her instead, but you can only hear it if Vivian is your partner.
- The final stretch of the Palace Of Shadow is easily the best part. It's a lot more spatially complex, there's platforming and combat challenges that make use of pretty much all of your partners (Ms Mowz is even great on the Chain Chomps), and the music is a lot more dramatic. It's really what the whole dungeon should've been.
- Right before the final boss, we get what is possibly the hardest Bowser fight of all time. Between his beefy health bar, the fact that you have to deal with Kammy as well, and the fact that you've already been worn out by the admittedly pretty mid Sir Grodus fight makes for a long and brutal encounter, but an incredibly fun one. It's the scariest fight in the game, but it's also probably the most rewarding. I may not have liked Bowser's role in the story, but at least he went out on a high.
- Bowser's second battle theme demands an entire bullet point on its own, it's one of the wildest tracks in a Mario game. It's a frenetic DnB/Metal mashup with chopped-up amen breaks and sudden tempo changes aplenty, and I love it. The remake's version isn't quite as... unique, leaning more towards the metal end of the spectrum, but it keeps the same chaotic energy and relentless intensity. As much as I'm enjoying the remade soundtrack, it's a shame it feels like they scrubbed the game of any of its early 2000s industrial influence.
- Before we get to the Shadow Queen fight, I have one last point of praise for the remake. You can now retry fights if you game over, so unlike in the original, you don't need to rewatch that super long cutscene every time you die!
- As for the Shadow Queen fight itself, it's very good, probably even my favorite in the game. It's obviously great on a presentation level, between the drama of Peach being possessed, the iconic wish sequence, and the fantastic music, but I think the best aspect about the fight is its challenge. Not only do you have to content with a massive health bar of 150, not only do you have to deal with multiple phases, not only do you have to stall for a few turns, but the Shadow Queen can inflict a bunch of status effects on you, constantly spawns companions you need to take out, deal up to nearly 20 points of damage, attack multiple times per turn, boost her attack by up to 7 points, and heal. I've heard the Shadow Queen fight was a bit of a brickwall for a lot of people, but it really all depends on your build and set-up. This is the fight that tests how you've allocated your exp, which badges you use, and which items you brought with you.
- Unfortunately, TTYD ends on a bit of a weak note with its epilogue. Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. The party members saying their farewells to Mario is a great moment, and most of the characters have fairly satisfying resolutions, but there are three particularly frustrating writing decisions that sour the mood a bit. I already talked about this in the Prelude review, but I'll bring them up again.
- First off, you know how I was complaining about death fakeouts? Well, it's at its worst here. Sir Grodus, despite being zapped out of existence by the Shadow Queen on screen, is revealed to not just be alive, but working to redeem himself. So that's just kinda bullshit, but you know who else turned out to be still alive? TEC! You know, the robot who had an incredibly impactful and emotionally charged sacrifice that served as the culmination of his character arc? He's alive! Somehow!
- The aspect of the ending I always found the most offensive was Vivian forgiving her sisters off-screen when they did nothing to deserve it. This still holds true, and it might be even worse considering the newly added transphobia element, but I will give the remake a bit of credit. In the original, Vivian forgave her sisters because family important, but in the remake, she says she wants to give them a second chance. This is probably the best thing the remake could've done without completely changing the story, but also I think they should've completely changed the story in this case.
- I hate to end my review on such a sour note, so let me go back to the positives one last time. For all its faults, this is still a good final chapter. It has a strong sense of finality, the final dungeon gets better as it goes along, and it has some of the best and most challenging boss fights in the game. And as far as the send offs I did like, Flurrie and Doopliss teaming up to perform is brilliant, Bobbery healing his soul is just plain nice, and Yoshi Kid easily got my favorite resolution between his tearing up during the goodbye and taking Gonzalez's name to rise up the ranks himself.
- And for all its faults, I still think TTYD's story is still really good. What I love about the Paper Mario games is that they're one of the few cases where I feel like can actually get emotionally invested in the Mario world and its characters, even the Mario & Luigi games don't always scratch that itch due to their more comedic tone, and TTYD knocks that aspect out of the part. TTYD got me invested in Mario's party, it got me invested in Rogueport as a setting, it had me gripped with all of its scenarios, and it even got me to come around on characters I initially passed off like TEC and Flurrie. It's because I'm so emotionally invested in The Thousand Year Door's cast that I feel like I can be so critical about how they get treated at points, because I know how well TTYD's story-telling can be at its best and it kinda frustrates me that it's not that phenomenal throughout its entirety. But the fact that TTYD is even able to get me this invested to begin with is a massive accomplishment that, at the very least, puts it over like 99% of Mario games in this aspect.
Conclusion
I was unfair with The Thousand Year Door. For all I talk about hype aversion, I think I really fell victim to it for this game, overplaying its flaws and downplaying all the incredible feats it's able to accomplish just to "stick it to the fans". And don't get me wrong, I still find the collective Paper Mario fandom incredibly disagreeable, frustratingly narrow-minded, and insufferably entitled... but that's not TTYD's fault. It's a flawed game, for sure, but in a similar fashion to Super, it's that raw imperfectness that gives TTYD a lot of its appeal. It's not as replayable or well-paced as 64, but in exchange, TTYD has a better battle system, better partners, better dungeon design, more memorable setpieces, more satisfying collectibles, stronger story-telling, a more immersive world. I get the appeal now, I really do, but it also doesn't erase my love for The Origami King. Instead, I think I feel confident in saying that The Thousand Year Door and The Origami King are tied for my favorite Paper Mario games (not counting Super, of course).
And as a remake, this is a damn solid improvement. There are a few drawbacks from the original, particularly the dialogue pacing, but the more interactable environment, speedy partner swapping, fixed backtracking issues, improved Vivian characterization, incredible visuals, added character animations, and better tutorialization are all fantastic additions. The biggest let-down, really, is that the remake didn't take the opportunity to try to smooth over all the story issues. I've definitely warmed up on some of my criticisms, like I think TEC isn't nearly as bad as I remember and as I mentioned Vivian's arc is massively improved, but the abundance of missable partner dialogue, frequent death fakeouts, and iffy handling of Peach is still there. I know some fans would've been pissed if the story was dramatically changed (hell, some already are with minor rewrites), but I think that if you have the opportunity to make minor improvements in your story, it's totally valid to do so.
Either way, though, I'm glad the Thousand Year Door remake is a thing. For as much as I was worried about it, it did what the Super Mario RPG remake did and allowed me to rediscover a Mario game I had previously passed off. I still have a lot of fondness and nostalgia for 64 and I always will, but I do think that The Origami King and The Thousand Year Door remake are currently the peak of the Paper Mario formula. And the fact that Intelligent Systems were willing to carry over so much of the former into their remake of the latter gives me an incredible amount of hope that the future of this series can give us a game that combines the best of both. Keep up the good work, IntSys, you've been killing it lately.
5/5 Stars
Oh yeah, and just for context, here's my general ranking of the Mario RPGs:
- Super Paper Mario (I don't count this as a Paper Mario game nor a Mario RPG, it's its own thing and it's wonderful)
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
- Paper Mario: The Origami King
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
- Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
- Super Mario RPG
- Paper Mario
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
- Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
- Paper Mario: Color Splash
- Mario & Rabbids Duology (Respect them, but I'm not a fan of TRPGs)
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star
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