Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, a remake of the original title for the Gamecube that came out in 2004, landed on the Switch back in May. I never played the original, so this game was all new to me. And I found Paper Mario: TTYD to be a great time.
But is Paper Mario: TTYD the game for you?
Here is my review of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Overall Score: 4.8/5 Stars
Overall, Paper Mario: TTYD was fantastic in my opinion. An engaging role-playing game, I found the gameplay was fun, the story was engaging, the art was gorgeous, and overall I felt like a got a lot of bang for my buck out of this game.
To be honest, unless something like another Breath of the Wild comes out of the woodwork, TTYD will probably be my favorite game this year.
The story in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
I’ll admit, the whole “Peach gets kidnapped/taken/lost” storyline has definitely grown stale. But because this is a remake (it originally came out in 2004) and because Nintendo is making strides in the right direction in that department (see my reviews of Princess Peach: Showtime! and Super Mario Bros. Wonder) it gets a pass.
That being said, the story was fun. TTYD moves the plot to a new land with lots of interesting places and problems. The lore in the story and the pacing kept me engaged the whole time. The antagonists were a good blend of formidable and quirky. And without getting into spoilers, there are some good twists.
The only thing that kept it from being perfect was too much backtracking. Due to the way the game is laid out, you’ll spend a lot of plot time running back and forth from A to B to A again. But it wasn’t bad enough to mar the game too much.
The battle system in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
TTYD’s battle system was one of the high points of the game. It made the battles engaging, requiring me to time attacks and defenses with button presses to maximize their effectiveness. The combat system kept battles fresh and exciting, as I had to stay attentive rather than simply selecting commands from a menu.
There was also a fun element of strategy. Between leveling up different battle aspects, using items, and gauging the strengths and weaknesses of opponents, battling was one of the most fun parts of this game.
What is Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door rated?
The ESRB has Paper Mario TTYD rate ‘E’ for “Everyone” and contains “mild fantasy violence” and “mild suggestive themes” with “no interactive elements”. There is lots of hammer smashing and cartoon battling, but nothing major. A few characters flirt with Mario, and a robot falls for Princess Peach, but there really isn’t anything scandalous.
The real question when it comes to what age this game is appropriate for is what your kids can handle when it comes to patience and reading. As the game is pretty heavily story based, it features significant dialogue, a lot of which helps guide you through fairly complicated scenarios and puzzles. It can also be fairly slowly paced, which might not be the best for younger kids, and the battles require a fair amount of strategy, which can get complicated.
Is Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door worth the price?
I write about this with just about every review I do, but the fact remains: Switch games are expensive. Paper Mario: TTYD isn’t any different. It goes on the Nintendo Store for $59.99. You can find it other places, like Amazon, for a bit cheaper, but not much. That’s why we all want to make sure the games we buy are worth it.
Paper Mario: TTYD is. Length isn’t always the hallmark of a good game, but TTYD was rich and full, chocked with fun challenges, quirky characters, good battles and solid story. TTYD took me almost 30 hours to finish, I didn’t really do any side quests or spend much time meandering around. I stuck to the main storyline and felt like I cruised through it at a pretty decent pace. And I enjoyed just about every minute of it.
Conclusion
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a great game. It was a hit in 2004 on the GameCube, and it’s been a hit on the Switch. If you’re looking for a quality, engaging game that is worth your money, this is a good one.