By Dean Moses
Game: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Rating: E for Everyone
Cost: $59.99
Mario is back again albeit in a bit slimmer with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door! After 20 years from its Game Cub release, this iteration has been updated with fresh visuals. The revamped outing follows Mario as he tries to stop an origami menace from turning everything in the Kingdom into paper.
Story
It started with an invitation to an origami festival in Toad town, but upon arriving Mario and his brother Luigi found Princess Peach had been turned into a folded piece of paper by origami King Olly. Locking away Princess Peach in a folded paper castle, Mario must break the spell before the paper Kingdom is ripped to shreds. With a new partner, Oliva, the duo must combat evil folded soldiers all the while attempting to free Princess Peach from the clutches of King Olly. Together they must collect the Crystal Stars before the wicked X-Nauts as they try to get the treasure behind the Thousand-Year Door. Mario’s classic friends are back to help him conquer this quest after everything was cursed and turned to paper, allowing him to fly and get to how to reach spaces.
GamePlay
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has returned back to his RPG roots, much to the fans anticipation. In this comedic outing, Mario searching through the gritty world of Rogueport where he will have numerous hilarious encounters as he attempts to collect Crystal Stars. But this is no easy feat, with each Cyrstal Star collection being a challenge in itself—like oddly enough a pro-wrestling match. Each task Mario encounters is best dealt with a strong team, so be sure to recruit characters you think will help you on your voyage. Since Mario has returned back to his RPG roots that means the battles are turn-based, allowing for Action Commands (dishing out damage by timing each button selection).
Conclusion
Whether Mario be in 3D, 2D, or even as a thinly sliced piece of paper, you know that it is going to be a fun journey with the Mushroom Kingdom. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the perfect nostalgic through back that will leaving you laughing and wanting more from this 30+ hour campaign.
