It’s a crime that has no way to play Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for more than ten years. The only way to experience the original Gamecube title from 2004 was on that console or the Wii, which thankfully supported Gamecube discs (something that now feels like a real miracle). Unfortunately, the Wii U lacked Gamecube hardware support and A thousand year old door never opened in their online store. So here we are, 20 years later, with a complete remake for the Switch. It’s fantastic, befitting a game that’s already a masterpiece – it’s a shame it took so long for Nintendo to revise the game.
Here’s some sober perspective: I played first A thousand year old door As a senior in college my roommates and I turned it into a communal adventure. Now I’m married with two kids, but I still lament the loss of Gamecube titles almost every day. Where Eternal Darkness, one of the best horror games ever made? Where Skies of Arcadia, an RPG that I adored on the Dreamcast and was later re-released on the Gamecube? I understand that re-releases take work, but there is definitely an audience for these lovely titles!
Anyway, back to the remake Thousand Year Door: Great, you should play. It’s an accessible RPG for newcomers with a cute setting: Princess Peach has been kidnapped (of course), but this time by aliens! It’s up to Mario and a group of friends, including a treasure-seeking Goomba named Goombela and a cowardly Koopa, Koops, to save an ancient civilization by solving its mystery.
Whom Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario before that, A thousand year old door is a sort of hybrid action RPG. You can explore worlds and level up characters like an RPG, but battles include some sensitive button mashing to keep you on your toes. A well-timed keystroke can allow you to jump on an enemy’s head more than once or parry incoming attacks. It’s such an innovative take on RPG mechanics that I wish more games would pick up on – it is excellent Sea of stars was a rare exception.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door It’s also worth revisiting for older folks with nostalgia for the original. The graphics are richer and more detailed, with sharper sprites and lighting that makes environments feel alive (reflections, in particular, are often stunning). The game’s score has also been revived to feel less MIDI-like – don’t worry, there’s also an in-game perk that can restore everything to the original Gamecube tunes.
It’s too bad Nintendo had to drop the framerate from the Gamecube’s silky smooth 60fps to 30fps, but it’s not the end of the world. If you can enjoy some of the greatest games ever made at 30fps, go for it Breath of the wild and Tears of the kingdom, A thousand year old door not different. The remake also adds enough new graphical elements to make it look better than the original. I’m sure I’ve nailed the game’s time-based movements at 60fps more often, but they’re still fairly easy to pull off (except for those damn counters).
Had Nintendo released this remake earlier in the Switch’s life, I’m sure fewer gamers would have complained about the 30fps. But at this point, the Switch is on its last legs, and we’re waiting for news on its successor. Both Sony and Microsoft have long had “next-gen” consoles that they consider mid-cycle upgrades. It’s strange to see a game running slower today than it did on the Gamecube 20 years ago, especially when Nintendo is charging $60 for less experience.
Perhaps the Switch 2 or whatever Nintendo’s new console is called will be able to run it. A thousand year old door At 60fps. But it doesn’t really matter. It’s still a masterpiece, even at half the frame rate.
